Co.- 


V    DEU  J 


WITH  OPEN  FACE 


JESUS    MIRRORED    IN    MATTHEW 
MARK    AND    LUKE 


ALEXANDER    BALMAIN    BRUCE,    D.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF 
:<EW    TESTAMENT   EXEGESIS    IN   THE    FREE    CHURCH   COLLEGE,    GLASGOW 

AUTHOR   OF 
"the    KINGDOM   OF  GOD,"    "THE   TRAINING   OF   THE   TWELVE," 

"  ST.  Paul's  conception  of  christianitv," 

ETC.,    ETC. 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

1896 


COPYRIGHl',   1896,  BY 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 


XovtoooC  ^rcss 

.  Cushin;;  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


PREFATORY   NOTE 


Of  the  thirteen  chapters  contained  in  this  volume, 
nine  have  appeared  in  The  Expositor  in  the  course  of 
this  year.  The  last  four  chapters  appear  now  for  the 
first  time. 

These  popular  sketches  of  the  spirit  and  teaching  of 
our  Lord,  as  exhibited  in  selected  scenes  from  the 
Evangelic  Records,  are  the  overflow  from  severer 
studies  on  the  first  three  Gospels  meant  to  meet  the 
wants  of  professional  students  of  Scripture.  In  the 
preparation  of  the  larger  work  I  have  seen  some  things 
in  a  fresh  light,  of  which  I  endeavour  in  the  following 
pages  to  give  general  readers  the  benefit. 

The  last  chapter  is  an  attempt  to  realise  an  idea 
which  has  been  in  my  mind  for  years :  to  set  forth  for 
the  instruction  of  children,  in  the  form  of  a  historical 
catechism,  the  main  facts  concerning  Jesus.  The 
"Christian  Primer"  may  be  welcome  at  the  present 
time,  when  the  subject  of  Education  is  again  engaging 
public  attention  in  England.  Should  it  be  received 
with  favour,  a  larger  catechism  on  a  similar  plan  may 
be  attempted  hereafter. 


A.   B.   BRUCE. 


Glasgow,  September  1896. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

The  Prophetic  Picture  of  Matthew      ....         1 


CHAPTER   II 
The  Realistic  Picture  of  Mark 20 

CHAPTER    III 
The  Idealised  Picture  of  Luke 41 

CHAPTER   IV 
The  Synagogue  Ministry 62 

CHAPTER   V 
The  Mission  to  the  Publicans 83 

CHAPTER  VI 
Jesus  longing  for  Apt  Disciples 102 

CHAPTER   VII 
The  Escapes  of  Jesus .     121 


VI  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PAGE 

Your  Father  who  is  in  Heaven 140 


CHAPTER  IX 
The  AVorth  of  Man 159 

CHAPTER  X 
The  Moral  Ideal 179 

CHAPTER   XI 
The  Cross  in  Sight 198 

CHAPTER  XII 
Gethsemane 218 

CHAPTER   XIII 
The  Christian  Primer 237 


WITH    OPEN    FACE 


JESUS    MIRRORED    IN    MATTHEW 
MARK    AND    LUKE 


WITH  OPEN  FACE 


OK 


JESUS   MIRRORED    IN   MATTHEW, 
MARK,    AND    LUKE 


CHAPTER   I 

THE    PROPHETIC    PICTURE    OF    MATTHEW 

The  three  first  Gospels  present  essentially  the  same 
view  of  Jesus  as  a  preacher,  a  teacher,  and  the  uncom- 
promising foe  of  Pharisaism.  Yet  on  closer  study  dis- 
tinctive features  reveal  themselves  in  their  respective 
delineations.  In  Mark,  which  may  with  much  proba- 
bility be  regarded  as  the  earliest  Gospel,  Jesus  is  pre- 
sented realistically  as  a  man^  with  marked  individuality 
in  ex]Derience,  speech,  manner,  and  action.  In  Matthew 
He  is  presented  as  the  Christ,  in  His  Messianic  dignity, 
yet  as  a  very  human,  winsome  Messiah.  In  Luke  He 
appears  as  the  Lord,  the  exalted  Head  of  the  Church  ; 
still  a  true  man,  yet  bearing  the  aspect  of  a  saint  with 
an  aureole  round  His  head  ;  near  us  in  His  grace  towards 
the  sinful,  yet  in  some  ways  wearing  a  look  of  remote- 
ness like  a  distant  range  of  hills  softly  tinged  with  blue. 
The  first  Evangelist,  as  is  Avell  known  to  all  readers, 

B  1 


2  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

loses  no  opportunity  of  verifying  his  thesis  :  Jesus  the 
Christ.  Some  of  his  prophetic  citations  are  unimpor- 
tant, referring  to  matters  purely  external,  of  no  signifi- 
cance for  the  characterisation  of  Jesus.  An  extreme 
example  of  this  class  may  be  found  in  the  closing  words 
of  the  second  chapter  :  "  He  shall  be  called  a  Nazarene." 
Apologists  have  busied  themselves  in  trying  to  discover 
the  Old  Testament  basis  of  the  reference,  and  some  in 
their  despair  have  had  recourse  to  the  hypothesis  of 
some  lost  book  of  prophecy  whence  the  quotation  was 
taken.  Their  labour  is  well  meant  but  vain.  Far 
better  to  confess  that  this  is  one  of  the  weakest  links 
in  the  prophetic  chain  of  argument,  and  try  to  make  an 
apologetic  point  of  its  weakness.  That  really  can  be 
done.  It  is  obvious  that  no  one  would  ever  have 
thought  of  a  prophetic  reference  in  the  instance  before 
us  unless  the  fact  had  first  been  there  to  put  the  idea 
into  his  mind.  If  the  home  of  Jesus  had  not  been  in 
Nazareth,  who  would  have  dreamt  of  searching  among 
the  Hebrew  oracles  for  a  prophetic  anticipation  ?  The 
fact  suggested  the  prophecy,  the  prophecy  did  not 
create  the  fact.  And  this  remark  may  apply  to  many 
other  instances,  where  we  have  not,  as  in  this  case, 
independent  means  of  verifying  the  fact.  Sceptics 
have  maintained  that  not  a  few  of  the  Gospel  incidents 
were  invented  to  correspond  with  supposed  Messianic 
prophecies.  The  truth  probably  is  that  in  by  far  the 
greater  number  of  cases  the  historical  data  were  there 
to  begin  with,  stimulating  believers  in  Jesus  as  the 
Christ  to  hunt  up  Old  Testament  texts  fitting  into 
them  as  key  to  lock. 


PROrHETlC    PICTUKE    OF    MATTHEW  3 

Some  of  Matthew's  quotations  reveal  delicate  tact 
and  tine  spiritual  insight.  Whatever  may  be  their 
value  as  proofs  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  at  all  about  their  value  as  indications  of  what 
the  Evangelist  thought  of  Jesus.  These  indications 
are  all  the  more  valuable  that  they  are  given  uncon- 
sciously and  without  design.  The  Evangelist's  aim  in 
making  these  citations  is  to  satisfy  his  first  readers  that 
He  of  whom  he  wrote  was  the  Great  One  whose  comino- 
all  Jews,  Christian  and  non-Christian,  expected.  But 
in  pursuing  this  design  he  lets  us  see  how  he  conceives 
the  character  and  ministry  of  Jesus,  and  this  is  really 
for  us  now  the  permanent  religious  use  of  these 
prophetic  texts. 

Three  of  these  texts  stand  out  from  among  the  group 
as  specially  serviceable  for  this  purpose.  The  first, 
quoted  from  Isaiah  ix.  1,  2,  is  introduced  in  connection 
with  the  settlement  of  Jesus  in  Capernaum  at  the  com- 
mencement of  His  Galilean  ministry.  The  important 
part  of  the  quotation  lies  in  the  words  :  "  the  people 
which  sat  in  darkness  saw  a  great  light."  ^  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  Light  of  the  dark  land  of  Galilee  —  such 
is  the  Evangelist's  comprehensive  conception  of  the 
memorable  ministry  he  is  about  to  narrate.  On  exam- 
ining his  detailed  account  we  perceive  that  in  his  view 
Jesus  exercised  His  illuminating  function  both  by 
preaching  and  by  teaching  :  understanding  by  the 
former  the  proclamation  to  the  people  at  large  of  the 
good  news  of  the  kingdom  as  a  kingdom  of  grace,  by 
the  latter  the  initiation  of  disciples  into  the  more  recon- 
'^Matt.  iv.  16. 


4  WITH   OPEN  FACE 

dite  truths  of  the  kingdom.  But  it  is  to  be  noted  as 
characteristic  of  the  first  of  our  canonical  Gospels  that 
while  the  preaching  function  (kerygma)  of  Jesus  is 
carefully  recognised,  it  is  to  the  teaching  function 
(didache)  that  greatest  prominence  is  given.  "  Jesus," 
we  are  told,  "  went  about  all  Galilee,  teaching  in  their 
synagogues,  and  preaching  the  Gospel  of  the  king- 
dom." ^  But  beyond  such  general  statements  little  is 
said  concerning  the  Preaching.  On  the  other  hand, 
of  the  Teaching,  especially  that  given  to  disciples, 
who  were  indeed  its  chief  recipients,  copious  samples 
have  been  preserved.  "•  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount," 
brought  in  immediately  on  the  back  of  the  general 
announcement  just  quoted,  belongs  distinctively  to  the 
Teaching.  However  many  more  might  be  present, 
disciples  were  the  proper  audience,  insomuch  that  the 
more  appropriate  name  for  the  discourse  would  be,  not 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill. 
There  Jesus  was  the  light  of  the  few  that  they  might 
become  the  light  of  the  world.  And  He  was  their 
light  by  being  their  Rabbi.  At  the  close  of  the  dis- 
course the  Evangelist  makes  the  comparison  between 
Jesus  and  the  scribes  given  in  Mark  in  connection  with 
the  first  appearance  of  Jesus  in  the  synagogue  of  Caper- 
naum.^  The  comparison  implies  resemblance  as  well  as 
contrast.  Jesus  in  the  view  of  our  Evangelist  was  a 
scribe  or  Rabbi  in  function,  anti-Rabbinical  in  spirit, 
and  in  virtue  of  both  facts  the  spiritual  light  of  the 
land.  Because  He  was  a  Teacher  He  might  be  com- 
pared with  the  other  religious  teachers  of  the  people 
1  Matt.  iv.  23.  -Matt.  vii.  29  ;  Mark  i.  22. 


PROPHETIC    PICTUPvE    OF   MATTHEW  5 

whose  professed  aim  it  was  to  communicate  to  their 
countrymen  the  knowledge  of  God.  Because  He  dif- 
fered utterly  from  these  teachers  in  method  and  spirit, 
the  light  He  offered  was  light  indeed.  For  their  light 
the  Evangelist  believes  to  be  but  darkness,  the  deepest, 
most  ominous  phase  of  the  night  that  brooded  over 
Galilee  and  other  parts  of  the  Holy  Land,  as  he  will 
take  pains  to  show  in  the  course  of  his  story. 

The  conception  of  the  Christ  as  the  Light-giver 
implies  that  the  leading  Messianic  charism  is  wisdom. 
But  that  the  author  of  the  first  Gospel  took  no  one- 
sided view  of  Messianic  equipment,  but  fully  recog- 
nised the  claims  of  love,  is  shown  by  the  prophetic 
quotation  now  to  be  noticed.  It  also  is  taken  from  the 
Book  of  Isaiah,  and  is  in  these  words  :  "  Himself  took 
our  infirmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses.''  ^  In  his  gen- 
eral preliminary  description  of  the  Galilean  ministry, 
Matthew  gives  a  prominent  place  to  a  healing  function: 
"  healing  all  manner  of  sickness  and  all  manner  of  dis- 
ease among  the  people."  ^  The  words  just  quoted  from 
the  prophet  show  us  the  light  in  which  the  healing 
ministry  presented  itself  to  his  mind.  What  struck 
him  most  was  not  the  marvellous  power  displayed 
therein,  but  the  sympathy,  the  phenomenal  compassion. 
This  was  not  a  matter  of  course;  ordinary  people  did 
not  so  view  the  remarkable  cures  which  were  taking 
place  among  them.  What  gained  for  Jesus  fame 
among  them  was,  beside  the  benefit  received,  the  pre- 
ternatural power  evinced  by  His  healing  acts.  Only  a 
deep  glimpse  into  the  heart  of  Jesus  could  enable  any 
1  Matt.  viii.l7,  from  Isa.  liii.  2  j\fatt.  iv.  23. 


6  WITH    OPEN    PACE 

one  to  see  in  these  acts  something  more  and  better  than 
power,  and  to  find  in  His  curative  function  a  fulfil- 
ment of  the  striking  Hebrew  oracle.  Such  a  glimpse 
had  the  Evangelist.  He  read  truly  the  innermost 
meaning  of  the  acts,  some  of  which  he  reports,  and  so 
laid  his  finger  on  the  grand  distinction  of  Jesus.  And 
one  who  saw  the  central  significance  of  love  in  the 
character  of  Jesus  was  not  likely  to  suppose  that  its 
manifestation  was  confined  to  healing  acts.  He  would 
expect  it  to  reveal  itself  also  in  "  gracious  words " 
spoken  for  the  healing  of  sin-sick  souls.  And  though 
fewer  such  words  are  reported  in  Matthew  than  we 
might  have  desired,  there  are  some  that  mean  much  to 
one  who  duly  considers  them. 

By  far  the  most  important  of  our  three  prophetic 
oracles  is  the  one  remaining  to  be  mentioned.  It  pre- 
sents, so  to  speak,  a  full-length  portrait  of  Jesus,  in 
prophetic  language,  which  will  repay  detailed  study, 
feature  by  feature.  This  citation,  like  the  other  two 
taken  from  Isaiah,  occurs  in  Matthew  xii.  18-21,  and 
is  in  these  terms  :  ^ 

"  Behold  my  servant,  whom  I  have  chosen  ; 
My  beloved  in  whom  my  soul  is  well  pleased  : 
I  will  put  my  Spirit  upon  Him, 
And  He  shall  declare  judgment  to  the  Gentiles. 
He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry  aloud ; 
Neither  shall  any  one  hear  His  voice  in  the  streets. 
A  bruised  reed  shall  He  not  break. 
And  smoking  flax  shall  He  not  quench, 
Till  He  send  forth  judgment  unto  victory. 
And  in  His  name  shall  the  Gentiles  hope." 

1 1  quote  the  Revised  Version.    The  original  is  in  Isaiah  xlii.  1-4. 


PROPHETIC    PICTURE   OF   MATTHEW  7 

The  attractive  picture  is  introduced  by  the  Evange- 
list at  this  point  in  his  narrative  to  show  the  true  Jesus 
in  opposition  to  the  Jesus  of  Pharisaic  imagination  — 
a  miscreant  deserving  to  die  for  Sabbath-breaking  and 
other  offences  against  an  artificial  religious  system. 
He  sees  in  Jesus  the  realisation  of  one  of  the  finest 
ideal  conceptions  in  Hebrew  prophecy  —  the  Servant  of 
God,  beloved  of  God,  filled  with  His  Spirit,  gentle, 
peaceable,  sympatlietic,  wise,  cosmopolitan,  capable  of 
winning  the  confidence  and  satisfying  the  aspirations 
not  of  Israelites  only  but  of  all  mankind.  It  is  the 
retiring  non-contentious  disposition  of  Jesus,  mani- 
fested in  connection  with  a  sabbatic  conflict,  that  re- 
calls the  prophetic  ideal  of  Messiah  to  his  mind.  The 
baffled  foes  of  Jesus  had  left  the  scene  of  strife  in  a 
truculent  temper,  taking  counsel  "how  they  might 
destroy  Him."  Perceiving  their  threatening  mood, 
Jesus  withdrew  from  the  place  to  avoid  giving  further 
offence  and  precipitating  a  crisis.  In  this  procedure 
the  Evangelist  recognises  the  Messianic  trait  :  "  He 
shall  not  strive  nor  cry  aloud,  neither  shall  any  one 
hear  His  voice  in  the  streets."  But  he  is  not  content  to 
quote  this  one  sentence  :  he  reproduces  the  passage  in 
full.  Instead  of  a  single  trait  he  shows  us  the  com- 
plete picture.  It  is  not  a  case  of  loose  quotation  with- 
out considering  whether  the  quoted  matter  be  relevant 
or  irrelevant.  Of  set  purpose  he  brings  in  this  fair 
portrait  of  Jesus  just  here,  skilfully  using  as  a  foil  to 
set  off  its  beauty  the  hideously  distorted  ideas  of  Him 
current  in  the  religious  world  of  Judsea.  He  takes 
into  his  hand  the  sketch  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  limner, 


8  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

holds  it  up  to  his  readers,  and  says  :  Look  on  this  pict- 
ure and  on  that.  This  is  Jesus  as  I  see  Him,  that  is 
Jesus  as  Pharisees  misconceive  Him.  Which  think 
you  is  the  true  Jesus? 

How  shall  we  qualify  ourselves  for  judging,  what  is 
to  be  the  basis  for  verification  ?  Must  we  confine  our- 
selves to  the  immediate  context,  or  may  we  roam  over 
the  evangelic  narrative  from  its  beginning  up  to  this 
point  ?  I  think  the  Evangelist  himself  has  the  whole 
foregoing  story  in  view,  and  that  that  may  be  the 
reason  why  he  quotes  at  length  and  does  not  restrict 
his  citation  to  the  one  point  apposite  to  the  immediate 
occasion.  If  so,  then  we  may  travel  over  the  preceding 
pages,  that  by  broad,  large  observation  w^e  may  satisfy 
ourselves  that  the  prophetic  delineation  answers  to  the 
character  of  Him  whose  story  has  thus  far  been  told. 
The  very  position  of  the  picture  in  the  book  —  in  the 
middle,  instead  of  at  the  commencement  —  invites  us 
to  use  the  knowledge  we  have  acquired  for  this  pur- 
pose. Another  Evangelist,  Luke,  has  also  presented 
to  his  readers  an  ideal  portrait  of  Jesus,  painted  in 
prophetic  colours.  But  his  picture  comes  in  very  early, 
serving  as  ?i,  frontispiece  to  his  book.^  Matthew's  pict- 
ure stands  right  in  the  centre,  so  that  we  cannot  help 
asking.  Is  the  painting  like  the  original  as  we  now 
know  Him  ? 

Let  us  then  study  the  goodly  image  in  the  light  of 
the  history  going  before.     "  Behold  My  servant !  " 

The  first  trait  is  the  Divine  complacency  resting  on 
the  person  whose  character  is  delineated:  "  My  beloved 
1  Lnl-e.  iv.  16-30. 


PROPHETIC   PICTURE   OF   MATTHEW  9 

in  whom  My  soul  is  well  pleased."  The  detested  of 
the  Pharisees  is  the  beloved  of  God.  A  strong  thing 
to  say ;  what  evidence  of  its  truth  ?  The  evangelic 
historian  points  in  reply  to  the  baptismal  scene  at  the 
Jordan  with  the  accompanying  voice  from  heaven: 
"Thou  My  beloved  Son."i  This,  of  course,  would 
have  been  no  evidence  for  Pharisees  who  were  not 
there  to  hear,  and  who  would  not  have  believed  on  the 
report  of  another  that  the  voice  had  really  been  spoken; 
even  as  there  are  many  now  to  whom  it  is  no  evidence 
because  of  their  unbelief  in  the  miraculous.  For  minds 
of  the  Pharisaic  type  no  evidence  of  any  sort  could 
avail  to  shoAv  that  such  an  one  as  Jesus  could  possibly 
be  the  well-beloved  of  God.  Such  minds  judge  men 
by  external  tests  and  by  hard  and  fast  rules,  Avith  the 
inevitable  result  that  they  often  mistake  the  best  for 
the  worst,  and  the  worst  for  the  best,  and  say  of  one 
who  is  a  true  servant  and  son  of  God :  "  Thou  hast  a 
devil."  Happily  there  is  evidence  as  to  the  character 
of  Jesus  available  for  all  men  of  open,  honest  heart, 
whether  they  believe  in  miracle  or  not.  There  is  the 
testimony  borne  by  the  unsophisticated  spiritual  in- 
stincts of  the  soul,  which  can  recognise  goodness  at 
sight.  Can  we  not  see  for  ourselves,  without  voices 
from  heaven,  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  as  revealed  in  His 
recorded  words  and  acts,  is  a  Son  of  God,  if  not  in  the 
metaphysical  sense  of  theology,  at  least  in  the  ethical 
sense  of  possessing  a  God-like  spirit  ?  Behold  My  ser- 
vant !  Yea,  a  servant  indeed:  of  God,  of  truth,  of 
righteousness,  of  true  truth,  of  real  righteousness,  with 
1  Matt.  iii.  17. 


10  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

rare  capacity  for  discerning  between  genuine  and  coun- 
terfeit —  a  brave,  heroic,  prophetic  Man,  fighting  for 
the  Divine  in  an  evil  time,  when  godlessness  assumed 
its  most  repulsive  and  formidable  form  under  the  guise 
of  a  showy,  plausible,  yet  hollow  zeal  for  godliness. 
Truly,  in  the  words  of  the  Hebrew  oracle,  God  had  put 
His  Sj)irit  upon  Him.  The  descent  of  the  Spirit  at 
His  baptism,  if  not  an  objective  fact,  was  at  least  a 
happy  symbol  of  the  truth. 

The  second  trait  in  the  picture  is  the  retiring  dis- 
position of  Jesus,  described  in  the  words:  "He  shall 
not  strive  nor  cry  aloud,  neither  shall  any  one  hear 
His  voice  in  the  streets."  Interpreted  in  the  light  of 
the  immediate  situation  these  Avords  refer  to  the  peace- 
able spirit  of  Jesus  evinced  by  His  retirement  from  the 
scene  of  recent  conflict  to  avoid  further  contention, 
and  the  intensification  of  existing  animosities  likely  to 
result  therefrom.  But  we  may  give  to  this  part  of  the 
picture  a  larger  scope,  and  find  exemplifications  in  por- 
tions of  the  evangelic  history  having  no  direct  con- 
nection with  Pharisaic  antagonism.  May  not  the 
Evangelist  have  in  view  here  the  ascent  to  the  moun- 
tain top  and  the  teaching  there  given  to  an  inner  circle 
of  disciples  ?  The  love  for  retirement  among  nature's 
solitudes  and  for  the  special  work  of  a  master  instruct- 
ing: chosen  scholars  was  characteristic  of  Jesus.  He 
did  not  indeed  shun  the  crowd  or  the  kind  of  instruc- 
tion that  tells  upon,  and  is  appreciated  by,  the  popular 
mind.  His  voice  was  heard  in  the  streets,  in  the  syna- 
gogue, from  a  boat  on  the  lake  addressing  an  immense 
crowd  on  the  shore.     He  gave  Himself  with  enthusiasm 


PROPHETIC    PICTURE    OF    MATTHEW  11 

to  evangelism,  visiting  in  succession  all  the  synagogues 
of  Galilee,  and  never  grudging  gracious  speech  to  the 
people  wherever  they  might  chance  to  assemble.  Still 
this  was  not  the  work  He  preferred,  nor  was  He  de- 
ceived as  to  its  value.  "  Much  seed  little  fruit "  was 
His  estimate  of  it  in  the  Parable  of  the  Soiver.  He 
got  weary  at  times  of  the  crush  of  crowds,  and  longed 
for  privacy,  and  made  sundry  attempts  to  escape  into 
solitude.  He  felt  the  passion  of  all  deep  natures  for 
detachment  and  isolation  —  to  be  alone  with  God,  with 
oneself,  with  congenial  companions  capable  of  receiving 
truths  which  do  not  lie  on  the  surface. 

The  retirement  to  the  mountain  top  was  one  of  these 
escapes,  and  the  "  Sermon  on  the  Mount,"  as  it  has 
been  called,  shows  us  the  kind  of  thoughts  Jesus  gave 
utterance  to  when  His  audience  was  not  a  street  crowd, 
but  a  band  of  susceptible  more  or  less  prepared  hearers. 
"When  He  had  sat  down.  His  disciples  came  unto  Him, 
and  He  opened  His  mouth  and  taught  them."^  His 
first  words  Avere  the  Beatitudes,  spoken  in  tones  suited 
to  their  import — not  shouted  after  the  manner  of  a 
street  preacher,  but  uttered  gently,  quietly,  to  a  few 
men  lying  about  on  the  grass,  breathing  the  pure  air  of 
the  uplands,  with  eyes  upturned  towards  the  blue  skies, 
and  with  something  of  heaven's  peace  in  their  hearts. 
In  these  sayings  of  the  hill  we  see  Jesus  at  His  best,  all 
that  is  within  Him  finding  utterance  in  the  form  of 
thoughts  concerning  citizenship  in  the  kingdom,  the 
righteousness  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  grace  of  the 
Divine  King  and  Father,  Avhich  are  very  new  in  empha- 
1  Matt.  V.  1,2. 


12  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

sis  and  felicity  of  expression,  if  not  altogether  new  in 
substance.  "  Why,"  we  are  tempted  to  ask,  "  should 
one  capable  of  sa3'ing  such  things  on  mountain  tops 
ever  go  down  to  the  plain  below  to  mingle  with  the 
ignorant,  stupid  mob,  not  to  speak  of  descending  lower 
still  into  unwelcome  profitless  controversy  with  prej- 
udiced, conceited,  malevolent  religionists  ?  "  But  such 
a  question  would  reveal  ignorance  of  a  very  important 
feature  in  the  character  of  Jesus  ;  viz.,  that  He  was  not 
a  one-sided  man  —  a  mere  Rabbi,  sage,  or  philosopher, 
caring  only  for  intimate  fellowship  with  the  select  few 
—  but  a  man  who  had  also  a  Saviour-heart,  with  a 
passion  for  recovering  to  God  and  goodness  lost  men 
and  women,  hungering  therefore  for  contact  with  the 
weak,  the  ignorant,  the  sinful  ;  making  the  saving  of 
such  His  main  occupation,  and  seeking  in  the  com- 
j)anionship  of  disciples  only  His  recreation. 

To  this  Saviour-aspect  of  Christ's  character  the  third 
trait  points:  "A  bruised  reed  shall  He  not  break,  and 
smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench."  Broadly  inter- 
preted, these  words  describe  the  compassion  of  Jesus. 
The  pathetic  emblems  denote  the  objects  of  that  com- 
passion: poor,  suffering,  sorrow-laden,  sinful  creatures 
in  whom  the  flame  of  life  temporal  or  spiritual  burnt 
low,  and  who  in  body  or  soul  resembled  bruised  reeds, 
frail  at  the  best,  rendered  frailer  still  by  grief,  pain, 
or  moral  shortcoming.  The  pity  of  Jesus  is  expressed 
in  negative  terms.  It  is  declared  that  He  will  not  do 
what  many  men  are  prone  to  do  —  crush  the  weak,  blow 
out  the  flickering  flame.  The  whole  truth  about  Jesus 
is  that  He  habitually  did  the  opposite  with  reference  to 


PKUPHETIC    PICTUllE    OF    MATTHEW  13 

all  forms  of  weakness  represented  by  the  bruised  reed 
and  the  smoking  wick.  For  verification  of  the  state- 
ment we  have  only  to  look  back  over  the  history. 
Consider,  e.g.,  the  ministry  of  healing.  Think  of  the 
multitudes  of  sick  in  Capernaum  ^  and  elsewhere  cured 
of  diseases  of  all  sorts  —  fever,  leprosy,  palsy,  blindness, 
insanity.  Miracles  or  not,  these  are  facts  as  well  at- 
tested as  anything  in  the  Gospels.  And  the  subjects  of 
these  healing  acts  might  very  appropriately  be  described 
as  physicall};^  or  mentally  bruised  reeds.  Take,  e.g., 
the  man  sick  of  palsy  borne  of  four  —  what  a  wreck 
physically !  ^  or  the  demoniac  of  Gadara  —  what  a  sad 
tragic  wreck  mentally!  ^  Of  moral  wrecks  also  there  is 
no  lack  of  examples.  The  palsied  man  is  one  ;  a  wreck 
morally  not  less  than  physically,  a  man  in  whose  life 
vice  and  disease  appear  to  have  been  closely  intertwined. 
How  then  did  Jesus  treat  that  man  ?  Did  He  shun  him, 
or  blow  out  the  little  flame  of  goodness  that  might  still 
be  in  him,  or  utterly  crush  the  spirit  of  hope  that  was 
already  sorely  broken  by  a  hard  unfeeling  Avord,  or  a 
merciless  rebuke  ?  No !  He  healed  the  wounded  con- 
science and  revived  the  drooping  heart  by  the  gracious 
word  cordially  spoken  :  "  Courage,  child  ;  thy  sins  are 
forgiven."  Or  look  in  at  that  large  assembly  of  "pub- 
licans and  sinners "  in  the  court  of  Levi's  house  in 
Capernaum.*  Here  is  a  motley  collection  of  bruised 
reeds  and  smoking  wicks  of  all  sorts  :  social  outcasts, 
drunken  men,  frail  women,  irreligious,  profligate,  scan- 
dalous people.     What  is  to  be  done  with  them  ?  Throw 

1  Matt.  viii.  16,  17.  2  Matt.  ix.  1-8. 

3  Matt.  viii.  28-34.  ^Matt.  ix.  9-13. 


14  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

them  out  into  the  social  refuse  heap  to  rot,  or  take 
them  out  in  boats  and  drown  them  in  the  lake  ?  Such 
may  have  been  the  secret  thoughts  of  respectable  in- 
human people  in  Capernaum,  as  such  are  the  thoughts 
of  cynical  persons  now  in  reference  to  similar  classes  of 
our  modern  society.  Not  such  were  the  thoughts  of 
Jesus.  Capable  of  salvation  and  worth  saving  even 
these,  said  He.  Bruised  reeds,  yes,  but  the  bruise  may 
be  healed  ;  smoking  wicks  doubtless,  but  the  flame 
may  be  made  to  burn  clear.  Was  He  too  sanguine  ?  No. 
How  strong  the  reed  may  become,  Avitness  the  story 
of  Zacchffius,  thoroughly  credible,  though  not  told  in 
Matthew;  ^  how  bright  the  dying  flame,  witness  the 
woman  in  Simon's  house  with  her  shower  of  penitent 
tears,  and  her  alabaster  box  of  precious  ointment. ^ 
"Much  forgiven,  much  love,"  was  the  hopeful  creed 
of  Jesus.  His  ideas  on  this  subject  were  very  uncon- 
ventional. Religious  people  as  He  saw  them  appear  to 
Him  very  far  from  God,  and  not  likely  ever  to  come 
nigh.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  seemed  hopelessly 
given  over  to  immorality  and  irreligion  He  deemed 
not  unlikely  subjects  for  the  kingdom.  Tlie  average 
modern  Christian  does  not  quite  understand  all  this, 
and  perhaps  he  hopes  that  Jesus  did  not  altogether 
mean  what  He  seems  plainly  to  say.  But  He  did  mean 
it,  and  He  acted  upon  it,  and  history  has  justified  His 
belief  and  policy. 

The  last  trait  in  our  picture  is  what  may  be  called 
the    cosmopolitanism,    or    the    universalism,  of    Jesus. 
"In  His  name  shall  the  Gentiles  hope."     That  is.  He 
'^  Luke  xix.  1-10;  rWe  especially  r.  8.  -Luke  vii.  36-50. 


PROPHETIC    PICTURE    OF    MATTHEW  15 

is  a  Christ  not  for  Jews  alone,  but  for  mankind.  The 
Hebrew  original,  as  faithfully  rendered  in  the^  English 
Bible,  means  :  "  The  isles  shall  wait  for  His  law."  The 
two  renderings  coincide  in  sense  in  so  far  as  they  ex- 
press the  universal  range  of  Messiah's  functions  ;  they 
differ  only  in  so  far  as  they  point  to  varying  aspects  of 
His  work.  The  one  exhibits  Him  as  a  universal  object 
of  trust,  i.e.^  a  universal  Saviour;  the  other  exhibits 
Him  as  a  universal  Legislator:  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  the  Lord  of  the  world.  Now,  let  it  be  noted, 
Jesus  could  be  neither  unless  He  possessed  intrinsic 
fitness  for  these  gigantic  tasks.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  "  offices  •'  in  the  first  place,  but  of  character,  cha- 
risms,  endowments.  It  boots  Hot  to  tell  men  that 
Jesus  is  Christ,  and  that  as  such  He  exercises  the  func- 
tions of  prophet,  priest,  lawgiver,  king,  so  long  as  they 
do  not  see  that  He  possesses  the  gifts  and  the  grace 
necessary  for  these  high  functions.  He  must  have  it 
in  Him  by  word,  deed,  spirit,  experience  to  inspire 
trust,  and  to  make  men  look  to  Him  for  latv,  i.e.,  for 
the  moral  ideal  of  life.  When  men  are  convinced  of 
His  power  in  these  respects,  they  will  accept  Him  as 
their  Christ ;  possibly  not  under  that  name,  for  some 
fastidious  disciples  may  be  inclined  to  discard  the  title 
as  foreign  and  antiquated,  and  unsuited  for  the  vocabu- 
lary of  a  universal  and  eternal  religion.  So  be  it  ;  it 
matters  not  about  the  name  (though  it  Avill  always  have 
its  value  for  theology  and  the  religious  history  of  the 
world),  the  vital  matter  is  what  the  name  signifies.  If 
Jesus  can  be  the  spiritual  physician,  and  moral  guide  of 
mankind.  He  is  what  the  people  of  Israel  meant  by  a 


16  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

Christ,  one  who  satisfies  the  deepest  needs  and  highest 
hopes  of  men.  And  so  the  great  question  is,  Can  the 
Jesus  of  the  Gospels  do  this  ?  The  question  is  not  to  be 
settled  by  authority,  or  by  apologetic  evidences  based  on 
miracles  and  prophecies.  Trust  and  moral  admiration 
cannot  be  produced  by  such  means.  Orders  to  trust 
are  futile,  injunctions  under  pains  and  penalties  to 
admire  vain  ;  proofs  that  a  certain  person  ought  to  be 
trusted  and  admired  inept,  unless  those  to  whom  the 
commands  and  arguments  are  addressed  perceive  for 
themselves  in  the  person  commended  the  qualities  that 
inspire  trust  and  admiration.  And  if  these  qualities  be 
there,  the  best  thing  one  can  do  for  his  fellow-men  is 
to  let  the  object  of  faith  and  reverence  speak  for  Him- 
self. Hold  up  tlie  picture  and  let  men  look  at  it.  Set 
it  in  a  good  light,  hang  it  well  on  the  wall,  remove 
from  the  canvas  obscuring  dust  and  cobwebs  if  such 
there  be  ;  then  stand  aside  and  let  men  gaze  till  the 
Friend  of  sinners,  the  Man  of  sorrow,  the  great 
Teacher,  begins  to  reveal  Himself  to  their  souls. 

Jesus  has  so  revealed  Himself  to  multitudes  in  all 
ages,  and  of  all  nationalities  ;  He  continues  so  to  reveal 
Himself  to-day.  The  success  or  non-success  of  His 
self-revelation  has  no  connection  with  race,  but  only 
with  moral  affinity.  Jesus  came  first  to  His  own  peo- 
ple, and  for  the  most  part  they  received  him  not.  The 
result  condemned  not  Him  but  them.  They  had  a  veil 
of  religious  prejudice  on  their  face,  and  they  could  not 
see  Him.  It  needs  an  open  eye  and  an  open  heart  to 
see  Jesus  truly.  The  open  eye  and  open  heart  may  be 
found  in  any  quarter  of  the  globe  ;   sometimes  in  very 


PROPHETIC    PICTURE    OF   MATTHEW  1" 

unlikely  quarters  :  among  Barbarians  rather  than  in 
the  great  centres  of  culture  and  civilisation.  The 
proud,  the  vain,  the  greedy,  the  slaves  of  fashion,  how- 
ever religious,  know  nothing  about  Jesus.  Jesus  was 
always  on  the  outlook  for  the  open  eye  and  simple, 
open,  honest  heart,  and  He  was  greatly  delighted  when 
He  found  them.  The  classic  example  of  this  quest  and 
delight  is  the  story  of  the  centurion  of  Capernaum,  a 
Pagan,  not  a  ^ew,  first-fruit  of  Gentile  faith. ^  What 
beautiful,  sublime  simplicity  in  that  Roman  soldier's 
trust !  And  what  a  thrill  of  pleasure  it  gave  Jesus  ! 
"  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel." 

Not  in  Israel,  the  very  people  for  whose  benefit  the 
Messianic  portrait  was  painted  in  the  olden  time. 
Strange  that  the  same  people  should  produce  men  cap- 
able of  such  splendid  artistic  work  in  the  sphere  of 
moral  delineation,  and  be  so  lacking  in  tlie  power  of 
appreciating  the  historical  realisation  of  the  prophetic 
ideals.  They  devoutly,  fanatically  believed  in  the  Mes- 
siah in  the  abstract,  but  could  not  recognise  Him  in  the 
concrete.  We  have  to  thank  Jewish  blindness  for  the 
unearthing  of  this  ancient  prophetic  picture  by  a  Chris- 
tian historian,  by  way  of  protest  against  hideous  carica- 
tures of  Jesus  by  His  religious  contemporaries.  We 
have  to  thank  Jewish  unbelief  for  the  tragic  result  of 
these  deplorable  misunderstandings,  the  crucilixion. 
Faith  in  a  Pagan  soldier,  unbelief  in  the  most  religious 
Jews.  Faith  where  you  did  not  look  for  it,  unbelief 
where  faith  should  have  been.  As  it  was  then,  so  it  is 
still,  so  probably  it  always  will  be.  All  turns  on  the 
*      1  Matt.  viii.  5-13. 


18  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

state  of  the  heart.  The  pure  heart,  the  unsophisti- 
cated conscience,  is  implicitly  Christian  everywhere. 
The  men  of  impure  heart,  lacking  in  moral  simplicity, 
may  be  very  Christian  in  profession,  fiercely  on  the 
side  of  Jesus,  yet  all  the  while  they  are  really  on  the 
side  of  the  Pharisees. 

Wisdom,  sympathy,  modesty,  gentleness,  wide-heart- 
edness,  combined,  such  is  the  Evangelist's  conception 
of  the  Christ,  and  of  Jesus.  Surely  a  most  winsome 
Jesus  and  a  most  acceptable   Messiah  ! 

"  Behold  My  servant,  whom  I  uphold,"  so  runs  the 
oracle  in  the  English  version  of  the  Hebrew  original. 
Whom  I  uphold:  Jehovah  backs  His  servant,  ideal 
Messianic  Israel,  however  despised,  against  all  comers. 
So  may  we  Christians  feel  in  reference  to  our  Lord 
Jesus.  We  may  well  uphold  Him ;  we  may  with  good 
right  hold  up  our  heads  as  believers  in  Him,  as  men 
who  support  a  good  cause.  Comparative  religion 
teaches  nothing  to  make  us  ashamed  of  Him.  The 
only  thing  we  have  cause  to  be  ashamed  of  is  our  mis- 
erably mean,  inadequate  presentation  of  Him  in  theory, 
and  still  more  in  life.  Two  things  are  urgently  re- 
quired of  us  modern  Christians:  to  see  Jesus  truly  and 
to  show  Him  just  as  we  see  Him.  "  Behold  My  ser- 
vant." Try  hard  to  get  a  fresh  sight  of  Jesus,  to 
behold  Him  "with  open  face."  Then  what  you  have 
seen  show  with  absolute  sincerity,  not  hiding  your  light 
for  fear  of  men  who  are  religious  but  not  Christian. 
Clear  vision,  heroic,  uncalculating  sincerity,  how  scarce 
in  these  days  of  time-serving  !  And  what  power  goes 
with  them  !     Give  us  a  few  men  whose   hearts   have 


PROPHETIC    PICTURE    OE   MATTHEW  19 

been  kindled  with  direct  heaven-sent  insight  into  the 
wisdom  and  grace  of  Christ,  and  who  7nust  speak  what 
they  know  and  testify  what  they  have  seen,  and  they 
will  bring  about  a  moral  revolution,  issuing  in  a  Chris- 
tianised Church  and  a  righteous  social  state. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   REALISTIC    PICTURE   OF   MARK 

That  Mark  is  the  earliest  of  the  first  three  Gospels 
might  be  inferred  from  its  comparative  brevity,  and 
also  from  the  fact  that  it  treats  only  of  the  public  life 
of  our  Lord,  giving  no  particulars  concerning  His  birth 
such  as  we  find  in  Matthew  and  Luke.  But  apart  from 
these  considerations  this  Gospel  contains  unmistakable 
internal  marks  of  a  relatively  early  date.  These  marks 
are  such  as  suggest  an  eye  and  ear  witness  as  the  source 
of  many  narratives,  and  a  narrator  unembarrassed  by 
reverence.  This  feeling,  we  know,  does  come  into 
play  in  biographical  delineations  of  men  whose  charac- 
ters have  become  invested  with  sacredness,  and  its  in- 
fluence o^rows  with  time.  The  hio-h.  esteem  in  which 
they  are  held  more  or  less  controls  biographers,  and 
begets  a  tendency  to  leave  out  humble  facts,  and  tone 
down  traits  indicative  of  pronounced  individuality,  and 
so  to  construct  a  story  smooth  and  commonplace  in  all 
that  it  reports  of  word  or  deed,  and  exhibiting  a  char- 
acter free  from  all  peculiarities  over  which  the  weakest 
might  stumble,  and  just  on  that  account  possessing  less 
interest  for  all  who  can  discern  and  value  originality 
and  power.     It  may  seem  bold  even  to  hint  that  any 

20 


REALISTIC    PICTURE   OF    MARK  21 

such  influence  can  be  traced  in  any  of  the  evangelic 
memoirs.  It  would  be  contrary  to  fact  to  say  that  any 
of  them  exhibit  the  characteristics  of  biographical 
writing  arising  out  of  the  sense  of  decorum  in  a  highly 
developed  form,  though  calm  investigation  may  con- 
strain the  admission  that  the  rudiments  of  these  are  to 
be  found  in  one  of  them.  What  I  am  concerned  at 
present  to  point  out  is,  that  wherever  such  characteris- 
tics may  be  discovered  in  the  Gospels,  they  have  no 
place  in  Mark's  narratives.  If,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
the  presentation  of  Jesus  in  the  first  Gospel  is  in- 
fluenced by  prophecy  going  before,  and  if,  as  we  shall 
see,  the  presentation  of  Jesus  in  the  third  Gospel  is  to 
a  certain  extent  influenced  by  reverential  faith  coming 
after,  it  may  be  said  with  truth  of  the  second  that  its 
picture  of  Jesus  is  not  coloured  by  either  of  these  in- 
fluences. 

Mark  is  the  realist  among  the  Evangelists.  It  has 
often  been  observed  concerning  his  style  that  it  is 
graphic,  vivid,  pictorial.  The  observation  is  not  only 
not  the  whole  truth,  but  it  is  even  to  some  extent  mis- 
leading. The  epithet  "  pictorial  "  suggests  the  idea  of 
an  author  who  employs  heightening  phrases,  and  in- 
troduces unimportant  particulars  simply  for  effect.  So 
used  it  is  a  doubtful  compliment  tending  to  loAver 
rather  than  increase  our  respect  for  a  writer.  Now  the 
thing  to  be  noted  about  Mark  is  not  the  use  of  height- 
ened or  accumulated  phrases  so  much  as  the  avoidance 
of  toning  down,  reticence,  generalised  expression,  or 
euphemistic  circumlocution.  He  states  facts  as  they 
were,  when  one  might  be  tempted  not  to  state  them  at 


22  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

all,  or  to  show  them  in  a  subdued  light.  He  describes 
from  the  life,  while  Matthew  describes  from  the  view- 
point of  prophecy,  and  Luke  from  the  view-point  of 
faith.  In  this  respect  Mark  occupies  a  place  among 
the  Gospels  somewhat  analogous  to  that  of  the  Vatican 
codex,^  which  differs  from  all  other  ancient  manuscript 
copies  of  the  Greek  New  Testament  by  the  measure  in 
which  it  has  kept  free  from  modifications  of  the  original 
due  to  regard  for  religious  edification  on  the  one  hand, 
or  to  literary  tastes  on  the  other.  The  text  of  the 
Vatican  codex  has  on  this  account  been  called  "  neu- 
tral," to  distinguish  it  from  the  pat'aphi-asing  type  of 
text  current  in  the  West,  and  from  the  refining  type 
which  had  its  source  in  Alexandria.  iNIark  likewise 
may  be  called  "  neutral,"  not,  indeed,  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  term  has  sometimes  been  applied  to  him,  as 
implying  a  deliberate  attitude  of  neutrality  in  refer- 
ence to  two  conflicting  theological  tendencies,^  but  in 
the  sense  that  he  reproduces  the  story  of  Jesus  from 
the  life,  uninfluenced  to  any  appreciable  extent  either 
by  the  prophetic  interest  of  the  first  Evangelist,  or  by 
the  delicate  sense  of  decorum  characteristic  of  the 
third. 

In  this  neutrality  of  Mark  we  have  a  guarantee  of 
first-hand  reports  and  early  redaction  not  to  be  de- 
spised. The  realism  of  the  second  Gospel  makes  for 
its  historicity.      It  is  the  index  of  an  archaic  Gospel. 

1  Referred  to  in  critical  editions  of  the  Greek  New  Testament  by  the 
letter  B. 

2  Such  was  the  view  of  Dr.  Ferdinand  Baur  and  other  members  of 
the  famous  Tiibingen  school. 


REALISTIC    PICTURE   OF   MARK  23 

Therefore  we  may  have  the  less  hesitation  in  making 
this  feature  prominent  by  going  somewhat  into  detail. 
I  have  tried  to  make  an  apologetic  point  of  the  occa- 
sional weakness  of  Matthew's  prophetic  references ;  I 
hope  now  to  make  an  additional  point  by  the  exhibition 
of  Mark's  realistic  delineations. 

1.  I  begin  with  a  biographic  hint  found  only  in  this 
Gospel  concerning  the  private  life  of  Jesus  previous 
to  the  commencement  of  His  public  career.  It  is  con- 
tained in  the  question  of  His  fellow-townsmen  on  the 
occasion  of  His  visit  to  Nazareth,  after  he  had  for 
some  time  carried  on  His  work  elsewhere :  Is  not  this 
the  Carpenter?^  This  is  the  one  fact  we  learn  from 
the  second  Evangelist  concerning  the  history  of  Jesus 
previous  to  the  eventful  day  when  he  left  Nazareth 
for  the  scene  of  the  Baptist's  ministry.  Mark,  unlike 
his  brother  Evangelists,  has  no  account  of  Jesus'  birth, 
and  no  genealogy  proving  Him  to  be  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  David.  "  A  son  of  the  hero-king  of  Israel," 
say  Matthew  and  Luke;  "a  carpenter,"  says  Mark, 
with  somewhat  disenchanting  effect.  And  yet  Mark's 
solitary  realistic  contribution  to  the  early  history  of 
Jesus  is  perhaps  of  more  importance  to  the  permanent 
significance  of  Christianity  than  the  other  fact,  which, 
while  recognising  it  in  his  narratives,  he  takes  no 
pains  to  verify.  To  make  good  the  title  "  Son  of 
David  "  as  applicable  to  Jesus  was  an  important  func- 
tion of  the  apologetic  of  the  apostolic  age,  especially 
in  a  work  like  that  of  Matthew  probably  written  for 
the  benefit  of  Jewish  Christians.  But  that  title,  in 
1  Mark  vi.  3. 


24  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

the  literal  or  physical  sense,  can  hardly  be  vital  to  the 
faith  of  Gentile  believers  and  of  all  generations.  Our 
faith  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  does  not  depend  on  our 
being  certain  that  He  was  physically  descended  from 
David.  We  may  satisfy  ourselves  on  independent 
grounds  that  He  meets  all  our  spiritual  needs,  and 
therefore  is  a  true  Christ  for  humanity.  And  when 
we  have  done  this,  we  will  have  no  difficulty  in  apply- 
ing to  Him  the  prophetic  promise  of  a  seed  to  David, 
at  least  in  a  spiritual  sense,  which  in  this  case,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Messianic  kingdom,  might  conceiv- 
ably be  all  the  fulfilment  the  promise  was  to  receive. 
"  If  ye  are  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed," 
argued  St.  Paul.^  So  we,  following  the  same  style  of 
reasoning,  may  say:  If  Jesus  be  Christ  (shown  to  be 
such  by  what  He  was  and  did),  then  was  He  David's 
seed,  ideally  at  least,  if  not  physically. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  Jesus,  before  He  began  His 
prophetic  career,  occupied  the  lowly  state  of  a  car- 
penter, is  of  universal,  permanent,  and,  one  may  add, 
ever-increasing  significance  as  a  symbolic  revelation 
of  the  genius  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  is  by  no 
means  a  merely  outward,  indifferent  fact,  too  trivial 
for  mention  in  even  the  fullest  account  of  the  life  of 
so  great  a  Personage.  It  has  distinct  and  great  ethical 
value,  both  as  a  biographical  fact,  and  as  a  means  of 
propagating  Christian  faith.  How  much  that  humble, 
yet  not  ignoble,  occupation  signifies  as  an  element 
in  the  education  of  Jesus  !  What  possibilities  it  pro- 
vided of  keen  insight  into  the  heart  of  human  life,  and 
1  Gal.  iii.  29. 


KEALISTIC    PICTURE    OF    MARK  25 

what  protection  it  afforded  against  the  unrealities  and 
insincerities  attaching  to  more  favoured  social  condi- 
tions I  Let  us  not  rob  it  of  its  significance  by  remark- 
ing that  to  learn  a  trade  was  a  fashion  among  Jews 
irrespective  of  rank.  The  artisan  experience  of  Jesus 
was  more  than  a  fashion  complied  with ;  it  was  a 
social  necessity  endured.  Jesus  was  a  real,  not  an 
amateur,  carpenter,  the  difference  being  as  great  as 
between  a  volunteer  soldier  and  one  who  engages  in 
actual  fighting.  Then  what  a  power  lies  in  this  one 
fact,  Jesus  a  carpenter,  to  enlist  for  Him  the  inter- 
est of  the  million !  The  toiling  multitude  in  every 
land  and  in  every  age  can  say  :  He  is  one  of  ourselves. 
He  knows  us,  and  we  know  Him  and  trust  Him.  He 
fought  a  good  fight  for  us,  for  man  stri]3ped  of  adven- 
titious distinction  ;  all  honour  to  His  name.  It  was 
well  for  all  reasons  that  the  Founder  of  a  universal 
religion  came  up  out  of  the  humbler  social  levels  with 
guaranteed  sympathy  for  the  many.  And  it  is  Avell 
that  the  fact  has  been  distinctly  stated  in  at  least  one 
Gospel,  for  "faith  cometh  by  hearing." 

2.  Our  next  example  of  Mark's  realism  shall  be 
taken  from  his  account  of  "The  Temptation."  "The 
Spirit  driveth  Him  into  the  wilderness."  ^  Note  the 
word  driveth^  much  the  strongest  to  be  found  in  any 
of  the  accounts.  It  points  to  a  powerful  force  at 
work,  of  some  kind.  And  we  can  have  no  doubt  as 
to  its  nature.  Of  course  it  was  not  a  physical  force 
exerted  to  compel  a  reluctant  person  to  go  whither  he 
would  not,  into  the  inhospitable  regions  of  a  stony 
1  Mark  i.  12. 


26  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

desert,  where  "  wild  beasts  "  were  the  only  available 
companions.  The  force  of  the  Spirit,  as  the  Evangel- 
ist conceives  the  matter,  is  brought  to  bear  inwardly, 
and  acts  through  thought  and  feeling.  In  other 
words,  the  driving  implies  and  denotes  intense  mental 
preoccupation.  Jesus  is  thinking  earnestly,  passion- 
ately, of  His  new  vocation  and  of  the  future  it  will 
bring,  and  instinctively,  inevitably,  as  if  under  an 
irresistible  impulse,  He  retires  into  the  solitudes  of 
Nature  congenial  to  one  in  so  absorbed  a  mood.  What 
a  flash  of  light  this  one  realistic  word  "driveth" 
throws  on  the  spiritual  endowment  and  disposition  of 
Jesus !  A  deep  thinker,  with  a  profoundly  earnest, 
passionate  temper,  and  a  spirit  capable  of  single- 
hearted,  consuming  devotion  to  a  great  end  :  this  is 
what  we  see  by  aid  of  this  momentary  illumination. 
And  the  knowledge  we  have  gained  is  not  confined  to 
the  particular  experience  to  which  the  word  is  applied. 
It  gives  the  key  to  the  whole  life  in  all  its  leading 
phases ;  therefore  to  those  that  already  lie  behind. 
It  explains  the  departure  from  Nazareth,  and  the  bap- 
tism in  the  Jordan.  It  helps  us  to  understand  why, 
and  in  what  mood,  Jesus  left  the  home  of  His  child- 
hood and  early  youth,  and  the  place  and  instruments 
of  toil.  The  Spirit  was  driving  Him  then  and  there 
also  ;  for  we  must  on  no  account  conceive  the  Spirit 
as  coming  upon  Him  for  the  first  time  after  His  bap- 
tism. The  descent  of  the  Spirit  recorded  by  all  the 
Evangelists  is  rather  the  objective  symbol  of  an  ante- 
cedent subjective  fact,  an  inner  possession  reaching  far 
back  into  the  past  years,  and  at  last  culminating  in  the 


HEAI>ISTIC    PICTURE    OF    MARK  27 

resolve  to  make  that  eventful  journey  southwards. 
The  resolutions  of  deep,  strong  natures  are  not  formed 
suddenly.  They  are  the  ripe  fruit  of  early  dreams, 
and  lengthened  brooding,  and  much  wistful  solitary 
thought.  But  when  the  crisis  comes,  purposes  are 
formed  with  intense  decision,  and  promptly  carried 
into  effect.  Then  the  driving,  tempestuous  action  of 
the  spirit  begins,  when  men  called  to  great  careers  act 
in  a  way  that  surprises  all  who  do  not  know  what 
silent  processes  of  preparation  have  gone  before.  So 
it  was  Avith  Jesus  when  He  left  Nazareth  ;  so  when  He 
demanded  baptism  ;  so  when  He  retired  into  the  wil- 
derness. These  were  three  consecutive  scenes  in  the 
first  act  of  the  great  drama  which  terminated  on  Cal- 
vary. Jesus  passed  through  all  three  by  Divine  con- 
straint. He  must  leave  Nazareth,  He  must  be  baptised, 
He  must  bury  Himself  amid  the  grim  retreats  of  the 
wilderness,  to  master  there  the  abstruse  problem  of  His 
new  vocation,  that  He  may  enter  on  its  duties  with 
clear  vision,  confirmed  will,  and  pure,  devoted  heart. 

3.  A  third  example  of  Mark's  manner  may  be  found 
in  his  account  of  the  first  appearance  of  Jesus  in  the 
synagogue  of  Capernaum.^  Jesus  now  appears  actually 
engaged  in  the  work  of  His  high  calling,  and  that  ac- 
count gives  a  vivid  idea  of  the  impression  He  made 
immediately  upon  the  people.  He  did  two  things  on 
that  occasion.  He  preached,  and  He  cured  a  man 
suffering  from  a  disease  described  as  possession  by  an 
unclean  spirit.  By  both  functions  He  created  astonish- 
ment, significantly  reflected  in  the  comments  of  those 
1  Mark  i.  21. 


28  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

present,  as  reproduced  in  the  life-like  report  of  the 
Evangelist.  "What  is  this?  "  said  they  to  each  other, 
"  What  is  this  ?  A  new  teaching  !  With  authority- 
He  commandeth  even  the  unclean  spirits,  and  they 
obey  Him. "  ^  They  were  astonished  at  the  immediate 
cure  of  the  demoniac  by  an  authoritative  word,  and  this 
is  not  surprising ;  but  not  at  that  alone.  They  were 
not  less  astonished  at  the  novel  kind  of  preaching, 
which  ordinary  readers  of  the  Gospel,  I  suspect,  fail 
sufficiently  to  realise.  And  yet  the  Evangelist  does 
his  best  to  direct  our  attention  to  the  fact  by  an  obser- 
vation brought  in  at  an  earlier  stage  in  his  narrative. ^ 
In  that  observation  he  points  out  the  remarkable  feat- 
ure in  Christ's  preaching.  It  was  the  note  of  author- 
ity, he  explains,  that  took  the  hearers  by  surprise. 
Authorit}^  commanding  power  in  word  and  deed : 
that  was  what  struck  the  worshippers  in  Jesus  as  He 
appeared  before  them  that  Sabbath  day.  And  yet 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  authority  in  doctrine. 
They  were  constantly  hearing  in  the  synagogue  of 
what  had  been  said  by  the  ancients.^  Their  Rabbis 
or  scribes  were  never  done  quoting  the  opinions  of 
those  who  sat  in  INIoses'  seat,  and  interpreted  the  mean- 
ing of  the  law.  But  there  was  a  wide  difference  be- 
tween this  new  Rabbi  and  all  the  rest.  The  Evangelist 
remarks  on  it  :  "  Not  as  the  scribes,"  and  we  may  take 
for  granted  that  it  had  struck  the  people  in  the  syna- 

^  V.  27.  as  in  the  Revised  Version,  which  is  based  on  a  different 
reading  in  the  Greek  from  that  to  which  the  Authorised  Version  cor- 
responds, according  to  which  the  wonder  referred  only  to  the  act  of 
healing. 

2  V.  22.  3  j]jaU.  V.  21. 


REALISTIC   PICTURE   OF   MARK  29 

gogiie.  Jesus  spake  not  hy  authority,  like  the  scribes, 
citing  the  names  of  renowned  doctors,  but  ivith  author- 
ity—  "as  one  that  had  authority."  He  quoted  no 
opinions  of  others  ;  He  simply  uttered  His  own 
thoughts,  and  so  uttered  them  that  they  came  home 
to  the  minds  of  listeners  with  swift,  sure  effect,  pro- 
ducing conviction,  admiration,  and  sudden  thrills  of 
pleasure  and  awe.  All  this  we  learn  from  the  simple 
words,  "  a  new  teaching  !  "  reported  by  Mark  as  uttered 
on  the  spot.  Peter  was  present.  Papias,  a  Church 
Father,  living  about  the  beginning  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, tells  us  that  that  apostle  was  the  source  from 
whom  Mark  derived  his  information.  It  looks  like 
it  here.  That  lively  exclamation  :  "  a  new  teach- 
ing !  "  sounds  like  the  report  of  one  who  had  been 
there,  and  on  whom  the  spontaneous  expression  of 
popular  admiration  had  made  an  indelible  impression. 
4.  A  curious  and  at  first  puzzling  instance  of  Mark's 
realism  is  supplied  in  his  account  of  wdiat  may  be 
called  the  Flight  of  Jesus  from  Capernaum.  The  story 
he  tells  is  this  :  — 

"  And  in  the  morning,  a  great  while  before  day,  He  rose  up 
and  went  out,  and  departed  into  a  desert  place,  and  thei'e  prayed. 
And  Simon  and  they  that  were  with  Him  followed  after  Him : 
and  they  found  Him,  and  saj''  unto  Him,  All  are  seeking  Thee. 
And  He  saith  unto  them,  Let  us  go  elsewhere  into  the  next  towns, 
that  I  may  preach  there  also,  for  to  this  end  came  I  forth."  ^ 

"  To  this  end  came  I  forth,"  i.e..,  from  Capernaum 
early  that  morning.  liuke  gives  the  matter  a  different 
turn.     He  makes  no  mention  of    a  flight  at  an  early 

^  Mark  1.  35-38,  from  the  Revised  Version. 


30  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

hour,  and  he  changes  the  apology  for  flight  into  a 
statement  by  Jesus  as  to  the  aim  of  His  mission  in 
generaL^  We  must  not,  in  the  well-meaning  but 
somewhat  officious  spirit  of  the  harmonists,  force  the 
second  Evangelist  to  say  the  same  thing  as  the  third. 
Mark's  version  is  historical,  not  theological ;  and  if 
we  will  take  it  so,  we  shall  get  clearer  insight  into  the 
spirit  of  Jesus,  and  the  situation  in  which  He  was 
then  placed.  We  assume  then  that  what  Jesus  said 
to  Peter  and  the  others  was  that  He  had  left  Caper- 
naum in  order  that  He  might  preach  in  other  towns. 
From  this  we  learn  that  Jesus  had  formed  a  plan  for 
a  preaching  tour  in  Galilee,  and  that  the  apjjearanee 
in  the  synagogue  of  Capernaum  on  the  previous  day 
was  simply  the  beginning  of  its  execution.  Having 
delivered  His  message  there.  He  desires  to  visit  other 
Galilean  synagogues,  that  He  may  speak  in  them 
words  of  similar  import.  That  we  now  fully  under- 
stand to  be  His  earnest,  deliberate  purpose.  But  why 
such  haste,  and  why  such  secrecy  ?  Why  not  stay  a 
little  longer  in  Capernaum,  where  His  words  and  works 
are  so  greatly  appreciated,  say  another  week  ;  and  why 
not  leave,  when  He  does  leave,  in  open  day  ?  There 
must  be  urgent  reasons  for  the  haste  and  the  secrecy. 
The  reason  for  the  secrecy  is  obvious.  All  were  seek- 
ing Him.  The  people  of  Capernaum  had  not  had 
enough  of  Him,  either  of  His  preaching  or  of  His 
healing  power,  and  they  would  do  their  utmost  to 
prevent  His  going ;  therefore  He  stole  away  while 
they  were  asleep.  But  what  was  the  reason  of  the 
^  Luke  iv.  42.  43. 


REALISTIC    PICTURE    OF    MARK  31 

haste?  It  must  be  found  in  that  which  constitutes 
the  penalty  of  sudden  and  great  poiiularity  —  the 
jealousy,  envy,  and  ill-will  of  those  whose  vanity  or 
interest  is  compromised  thereby.  Jesus  taught  not 
as  the  scribes.  The  scribes  knew  that  as  well  as  the 
people,  and  even  if  no  comparisons  were  made  by 
other  hearers,  they  themselves,  such  of  them  as  were 
in  the  audience,  would  carefully  note  the  difference, 
and  find  in  it  a  source  of  annoyance.  Jesus  instinc- 
tively apprehended  danger,  and  took  His  measures 
accordingly.  Being  earnestly  minded  to  preach  in 
other  synagogues.  He  hasted  away,  fearing  that  His 
oj)portunity  might  soon  be  cut  off.  He  could  not 
speak  in  the  synagogues  without  the  consent  of  the 
officials,  and  who  could  tell  how  soon  and  how  far 
the  incipient  dislike  of  the  scribes  in  Capernaum 
might  spread,  proving  a  barrier  in  His  way  wlierever 
He  went.  Therefore  He  said  to  Himself  :  ''  I  must 
go  at  once  on  this  preaching  mission,  that  I  may 
speak  in  as  many  synagogues  as  possible,  before  there 
has  been  time  for  opposition  to  be  organised." 

Here  was  a  complicated,  perplexing  situation  :  im- 
mense popularity  on  the  one  hand ;  ill-will  in  the 
professional  heart,  likely  ere  long  to  develop  into 
overt  action,  on  the  other.  We  are  not  surprised  to 
learn  that  Jesus  spent  part  of  that  morning  in  prayer. 
He  did  not  pray  as  a  matter  of  course  in  jjursuance  of 
a  habit,  engaging  as  it  were  in  His  wonted  morning 
devotions.  The  prayer  was  special,  in  reference  to 
an  urgent  occasion ;  and  though  no  particulars  are 
mentioned,  we  can    easily  imagine    its   purport.     The 


32  "WITH   OPEN   FACE 

emergency  suggested  petitions  such  as  these :  that 
the  people  in  the  various  places  He  meant  to  visit 
might  lend  Him  a  willing  ear ;  that  opportunity  might 
not  be  too  soon  cut  off  by  the  plotting  of  evil-minded 
men ;  that  He  might  be  able  to  speak  the  word  of  the 
kingdom  sweetly  and  graciously,  unruffled  in  spirit 
by  opposition  experienced  or  apprehended ;  that  im- 
pressions made  on  friendly  hearers  might  not  run 
into  a  merely  superficial  enthusiasm,  or  degenerate 
into  an  interest  having  its  root  in  a  desire  for  ma- 
terial benefit.  How  luminous  and  instructive  that 
puzzling  realistic  anecdote  of  Mark's  has  at  length 
grown ! 

5.  Our  next  instance  is  the  remarkable  statement 
peculiar  to  the  second  Gospel  that  the  relatives  of 
Jesus  at  a  certain  period  said  of  Him :  "•  He  is  beside 
Himself."^  The  passage  is  somewhat  obscure  partly 
owing  to  its  brevity,  and  as  a  Catholic  commentator 
long  ago  remarked,  ^  it  is  rendered  more  difficult  than 
it  really  is  by  a  piety  that  will  not  let  itself  believe 
that  any  one  could  think  of  Jesus  as  seems  to  be 
reported.  But  it  is  best  to  look  the  unpleasant  fact 
fairly  in  the  face  in  hope  that  it  will  bring  to  view 
some  new  and  notable  features  in  the  picture  of  Jesus. 

One  thing  the  fact  stated  very  evidently  bears  wit- 
ness to  :  the  moral  originality  of  Jesus.  The  thought 
of  His  relatives  simply  exemplifies  the  incapacity  of 
the  ordinary  man  to  understand  the  extraordinary 
man.  Unusual  force  of  mind,  or  depth  of  conviction 
or  sincerit}'  in  utterance,  anything  out  of  the  common 
^  Mark  iii.  21.  -  Maldonatus. 


REALISTIC    PICTUKE   OF   MARK  33 

course  in  conception  or  in  conduct,  is  a  mystery  or 
even  an  offence  to  the  average  man.  It  would  be 
his  wisdom  to  stand  in  silent  awe,  liat  in  hand  so  to 
speak,  before  the  mystery,  as  unscientific  persons 
would  stand  in  the  presence  of  a  mysterious  phe- 
nomenon in  the  physical  'universe.  But  men  will 
talk  about  their  moral  superiors,  they  will  have  their 
opinions  and  theories  about  them,  and  they  have 
little  hesitation  in  uttering  these,  however  disrespect- 
ful or  injurious.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  even 
the  friends  of  Jesus  thought  and  said  that  He  was 
out  of  His  senses,  thereby  bearing  involuntary  testi- 
mony to  the  exceptional  greatness  of  His  personality. 
The  rude  speech  of  these  stupid  friends  testifies 
further  to  the  enthusiasm  of  Christ's  humanity.  It 
was  while  He  was  so  busily  occupied  with  His  usual 
work  among  tlie  people,  preaching  and  healing,  that 
He  could  not  find  time  to  take  food  that  the  friends 
arrived  on  the  scene,  and,  watching  His  behaviour, 
came  to  tlieir  sapient  conclusion.  Much  benevolence, 
they  thought,  had  made  Him  mad,  and  in  their  good- 
ness they  desired  to  rescue  Him  from  the  crowd  and 
the  excitement,  and  take  Him  home  to  quietness  and 
rest.  Let  us  pardon  their  stupidity  for  the  sake  of 
their  most  reliable  testimony  to  the  intensity  of 
Christ's  devotion  to  His  beneficent  toil.  The  mad- 
ness was  only  in  their  imagination,  but  the  benevo- 
lence was  a  great  indubitable  fact.  Here  also  He 
Avas  driven  by  the  Spirit.  A  sacred  passion  for  doing 
good  to  others  was  one  of  the  outstanding  characteris- 
tics of  Jesus  ;    that  is  what  we  learn  in  an  emphatic 


34  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

manner  from  this  new  instance  of  Mark's  blunt  way 
of  telling  his  story. 

From  this  same  instance  we  may  learn  further  the 
extensive  and  extraordinary  character  of  the  healing 
ministry  of  Jesus.  It  was  so  obtrusive  a  fact  that 
men  found  it  necessary  to  invent  theories  to  account 
for  it.  The  friends  of  Jesus  had  their  theory;  look- 
ing on  while  He  taught  and  healed,  they  said  to  one 
another,  He  is  suffering  from  a  disordered  mind. 
Theirs  was  not  the  only  theory  broached ;  King 
Herod  had  his  likewise.  When  he  heard  of  the  fame 
of  Jesus  as  a  Healer,  he  said  :  It  is  John  the  Baptist 
risen  from  the  dead  —  just  come  back  to  earth  from 
the  spirit-world  and  wielding  its  mysterious  powers. ^ 
And  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  had  their  theory,  es- 
pecially with  reference  to  the  cure  of  demoniacs ; 
Mark  places  it  side  by  side  with  that  of  the  friends 
as  if  inviting  us  to  compare  the  two.  He  casteth 
out  devils,  said  they,  by  the  prince  of  devils. ^  Very 
unsatisfactory  theories  all  three ;  the  first  stupid,  the 
second  grotesque,  the  third  malicious  and  dishonest. 
Never  mind.  They  all  serve  an  important  purpose, 
that  of  showing  that  the  healing  ministry  was  a 
great  fact.  Men  do  not  theorise  about  nothing. 
When  theories  arise,  something  has  occurred  that 
arrests  attention  and  demands  explanation. 

Before  passing  from  this  instance  it  is  due  to  Mark 

to  say  that  he  has  supplied  materials  which  enable  us 

to  see  how  utterly  unfounded  was  tlie  judgment  of  the 

"friends."     It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  incessant  ex- 

1  Mark  vi.  14.  ^  j^/^j,.^-  ii,.  22. 


REALISTIC    PICTURE    OF    MARK  35 

citing  work  among  the  '-'•  masses,"  especially  such  as 
makes  heavy  demands  on  sympathy,  brings  dangers 
both  to  bodily  and  to  mental  health.  There  is  need 
not  only  for  intervals  of  rest,  but  for  occupations 
and  interests  of  a  different  order  to  help  the  mind 
to  maintain  its  balance,  and  to  keep  the  spirit  in  per- 
petual calm.  That  these  were  not  wanting  in  the 
case  of  Jesus  clearly  appears  in  Mark's  narrative. 
Just  before  he  has  shown  Jesus  occupied  with  the 
formation  of  a  disciple-circle,  first  selecting  from  the 
great  crowd  a  larger  group  of  suscei3tible  spirits  with 
whom  He  retires  to  the  mountain  top,  and  thereafter 
by  a  gradual  process  choosing  from  these  a  smaller 
circle  of  twelve. ^  With  these  chosen  companions  He 
remains  up  there  for  some  time  communicating  to 
them  such  deep  wise  thoughts  as  those  preserved  in 
Matthew's  Sermon  on  the  3Iount.  This  might  be  made 
clearer  to  the  ordinary  reader  by  a  different  verse-divi- 
sion and  a  slightly  amended  translation,  the  Avords 
"  And  He  cometh  into  a  house  "  ^  being  made  an  in- 
dependent verse,  and  the  phrase  ''  into  a  house  "  being 
replaced  by  the  one  word  "home."  The  narrative  will 
then  stand  thus,  — 

V.  19,  "And   Judas  Iscariot,  which   also  betrayed  Him"  (the 
close  of  the  disciple-list). 

V.  20,  "  And  He  cometh  home." 

V.  21,  '•  And  the  multitude  cometh  together  again  so  that  they 
could  not  so  much  as  eat  bread." 

By  leaving  a  blank  space  between  v.   19  and  v.   20 
we  convey  the  impression  of   a   considerable    interval 
1  Mark  iii.  13,  14.  ^  j[[ark  ill.  19. 


36  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

between  the  ascent  of  the  mountain  (y.  13)  and  the 
return  to  the  plain,  or  the  coming  home^  which  of  itself 
implies  absence  for  an  apjoreciable  time.  The  blank  is 
the  place  at  which  Mark's  report  of  the  Teaching  on 
the  Hill  would  have  come  in  had  it  entered  into  his 
plan  to  record  it. 

6.  Yet  another  instance  of  Mark's  realistic  style 
must  be  briefly  noticed.  It  is  the  tableau  of  Jesus  on 
the  way  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  final  crisis,  presented  in 
these  words  :  — 

"  And  they  were  in  the  way,  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  Jesus 
was  going  before  them,  and  they  were  amazed,  and  they  that  fol- 
lowed were  afraid."  ^ 

Again  the  same  intensity  which  had  filled  "  friends  " 
with  astonishment  and  alarm.  Once  more,  driven  by 
the  Spirit  !  But  this  time  the  subject  which  engrosses 
the  thoughts  of  Jesus  is  not  His  beneficent  work  among 
the  people  but  his  own  approaching  passion.  Walking 
in  advance  of  the  twelve  and  the  larger  crowd  who  fol- 
lowed in  the  rear,  He  is  as  solitary  in  spirit  as  He  is 
isolated  on  the  ascending  path.  Emotions  agitate  His 
soul  in  which  His  fellow-travellers  have  no  part.  The 
inward  mood  reveals  itself  in  His  outward  bearing  in 
such  a  way  as  to  inspire  in  spectators  wonder  and  fear. 
How  much  was  in  his  mind  at  that  hour:  the  holy  sup- 
per, the  farewell  words,  Gethsemane,  the  cross,  all  there 
by  vivid  anticipation!  And  how  much  in  His  manner 
as  it  met  the  eye  :  a  tragic  mood,  a  hero's  air,  the  step 
of  one  going  forward  to  battle!     He  told  the  twelve 

1  Mark  x.  32. 


REALISTIC    PICTURE    OF    MARK  87 

what  He  was  thinking  of,  bnt  it  was  not  necessary; 
they  saw  it  all  and  were  filled  with  awe.  And  we  see 
it  through  the  Evangelist's  vivid,  rapid  portraiture,  in 
which  gesture  is  made  to  tell  the  tale  of  unspeakable 
pathos,  firm  resolve,  heroic  daring,  faithfulness  even 
unto  death. 

The  foregoing  are  samples  of  realistic  touches  pecul- 
iar to  Mark,  and  their  number  might  easily  be  in- 
creased. There  are  others  equally  significant  in  which 
he  does  not  stand  alone,  Matthew  having  introduced 
them  into  his  narrative  probably  from  the  pages  of  his 
brother  Evangelist.  Among  these  may  be  named  the 
realistic  description  of  the  process  of  digestion  in  the 
discourse  concerning  that  which  defileth,^  the  discour- 
aging word  to  the  Syrophenician  woman,  It  is  not  meet 
to  take  the  children's  bread  and  cast  it  to  the  dos's,^ 
and  the  stern  word  to  Peter,  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan,^  all  omitted  by  Luke,  to  which  may  be  added  in 
the  sphere  of  action  the  realistic  description  of  the 
cleansing  of  the  temj)le.*  If  any  one  desires  to  know 
what  is  meant  by  realism,  let  him  compare  with  Mark's 
account  of  that  transaction  the  mild,  mitigated  report 
of  it  given  by  the  third  Evangelist.  I  content  m3^self 
with  a  bare  reference  to  these  instances,  and  close  with 
an  illustration  of  Mark's  manner  taken  from  the  sphere 
of  doctrine. 

7.  Mark's  account  of  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  is, 
by  comparison  with  that  in  the  other  Gospels,  very 
meagre.     Yet  it  is  remarkable  that  two  of  the  most 

1  Mark  vii.  10.  2  ]\fark  vii.  27- 

3  Mark  viii.  33.  "-  Mark  xi.  15-18. 


38  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

characteristic  utterances  of  Jesus  have  been  preserved 
by  him  alone.  These  are  the  saying  concerning  the 
Sabbath  being  made  for  man,^  and  the  parable  of  the 
Blade,  the  Grreen  Ear^  and  the  Ripe  Corn.^  The  former 
admirably  illustrates  the  comment  on  Christ's  manner 
of  teaching,  "not  as  the  scribes."  The  saying,  the 
Sabbath  exists  for  man  not  man  for  the  Sabbath,  is 
diametrically  opposed  to  the  scribal  method  of  teach- 
ing in  religious  tendency  and  spirit.  In  effect  their 
doctrine  was  precisely  that  man  existed  for  the  Sab- 
bath. Originally  given,  as  Jesus  hinted  in  the  first 
part  of  His  saying,  for  man's  benefit,  as  a  resting  day 
for  weary  men,  a  day  of  emancipation  from  toil  and 
drudgery,  they  had  converted  it  into  a  day  taken  from 
man  by  God  in  an  exacting  spirit,  and  so  established 
in  connection  with  it  a  new  form  of  bondage  —  slavish 
subjection  to  an  institution.  A  boon  turned  into  a 
tyranny  —  such  was  the  Sabbath  as  enforced  by 
the  scribes ;  a  tyranny  restored  to  a  boon  —  such  it 
became  through  the  redemptive  word  of  Jesus.  That 
word  was  equally  opposed  to  the  scribal  method  of 
teaching  in  manner.  No  authorities  cited,  no  Rabbi 
referred  to  as  the  first  to  utter  so  bold  a  thought. 
Jesus  speaks  in  His  own  name,  and  on  His  own  author- 
ity ;  a  grave  word  on  a  vital  question,  incisive,  deci- 
sive, final.  Once  more  that  word  presents  a  complete 
contrast  to  the  teaching  of  the  scribes  in  its  ethical 
character.  The  scribal  mind  moved  within  the  region 
of  positive  rules,  the  more  minute  and  unreasonable 
the  better ;  the  thoughts  of  Jesus  spurned  these  nar- 
1  Mark  ii.  27.  -  Mark  iv.  26-29. 


REALISTIC    PICTURE    OF    MARK  39 

row  limits,  and  were  conversant  with  great  moral  prin- 
ciples and  ultimate  truths  in  religion.  No  better 
voucher  for  this  statement  could  be  offered  than  the 
saying  in  which  He  stated  the  true  relation  between 
the  Sabbath  and  man. 

Equally  remarkable  is  the  parable  of  the  Blade,  the 
Green  Ear,  and  the  Ripe  Corn.  It  states  in  distinct 
terms  the  law  of  growth  or  gradual  development  as  a 
law  obtaining  in  the  spiritual  world  not  less  than  in 
the  natural.  It  is  the  most  precise,  indeed  I  may  say 
the  only  precise,  enunciation  of  that  law,  as  reigning 
in  the  spiritual  sphere,  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Some  have  doubted  the  genuineness  of  the 
parable,  regarding  it  as  a  secondary  form  of  some 
other  parabolic  utterance  of  Jesus.  Surely  a  ground- 
less doubt!  Who  but  Jesus  could  have  spoken  so 
felicitous  and  so  philosophical  a  word?  Not  one  man 
known  to  us  in  the  apostolic  age,  not  even  the  Apostle 
Paul.  Indeed  so  far  is  the  great  Master  above  the 
attainments  of  the  primitive  Church  in  this  part  of  His 
teaching  that  one  is  thankful  the  parable  has  been  pre- 
served at  all,  even  in  a  single  Gospel.  The  same  re- 
mark applies  to  the  saying  concerning  the  Sabbath. 
Both  utterances  were,  if  I  may  say  so,  too  deep  and 
too  thorough-going  for  the  comprehension  and  sym- 
pathies of  average  disciples.  And  it  is  just  on  this 
account  that  I  think  they  may  legitimately  be  used 
to  illustrate  the  realism  of  Mark.  He  reports,  as  they 
were  sj)oken,  these  striking  words,  when  the  tempta- 
tion was  either  to  omit  or  to  qualify.  He  did  this  doubt- 
less on  the  authority  of  one  who  heard  them  as  they 


40  WITH    OPEX    FACE 

fell  from  the  lips  of  the  Master,  and  who,  though  he 
might  not  understand  or  fully  appreciate,  could  never 
forget. 

These  two  invaluable  words  are  a  welcome  contribu- 
tion in  a  Gospel  in  which  Jesus  appears  chiefly  as  an 
energetic  original  actor.  They  show  that  the  force 
of  His  intellect  was  equal  to  the  force  of  His  will. 
They  also  prove  that  the  impassioned  temperament 
was  balanced  by  a  deep  imperturbable  tranquillity  of 
spirit;  for  such  great,  universal,  eternal  thoughts  visit 
only  minds  blessed  with  perennial  repose. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   IDEALISED   TICTURE    OF   LUKE 

Luke  is  the  only  one  of  the  synoptical  ^  Evangelists 
who  takes  his  readers  into  his  confidence  as  to  the 
aim  and  plan  which  guided  him  in  writing  his  Gospel. 
From  the  statement  which  he  makes  in  the  opening 
sentence  of  his  work,  the  following  inferences  may  be 
drawn : 

1.  That  he  lived  late  in  the  day,  after  many  attempts 
had  alread}^  been  made  to  give  an  account  more  or  less 
complete  of  the  public  ministry  of  Jesus. 

2.  That  he  had  not  himself  been  an  eye-witness  of 
any  part  of  that  ministry,  or  even  had  an  opportunity 
of  hearing  particulars  concerning  it  from  any  of  the 
men  who  "had  been  with  Jesus." 

3.  That  his  sources  of  information  were  mainly  books, 
written  accounts,  memoirs  of  the  life  of  Jesus. 

4.  That  in  writing  his  Gospel  he  earnestly  en- 
deavoured to  make  a  careful,  judicious  use  of  these 
sources. 

5.  That  his  aim  in  writing  was  to  confirm  faith  in 
the  evangelic  tradition  in  the  mind  of  the  friend  whose 

1  This  term  is  applied  to  the  first  three  Gospels  to  denote  that  they 
are  so  like  one  another  in  contents  and  style  that  they  may  and  ought 
to  be  studied  toccether. 

41 


42  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

benefit  he  had  chiefly  in  view:  in  his  own  words,  "that 
thou  mightest  know  the  certainty  of  those  things 
wherein  thou  hast  been  instructed." 

Luke,  we  see,  liad  the  sj)irit  of  research,  and  desired 
to  base  liis  narrative  on  the  sure  ground  of  liistoric 
fact. 

It  is  quite  compatible  with  tliis  that  the  Evangelist 
should  be  to  a  certain  extent  controlled  in  the  con- 
struction of  his  story  by  his  own  religious  feelings,  or 
by  the  religious  feelings  of  the  time  in  which  he  lived, 
or  by  the  spiritual  state  of  his  first  readers,  whether  we 
include  in  that  category  merely  the  one  person  named, 
Theophilus,  or  a  circle  in  which  he  was  the  prominent 
figure.  He  might  have  to  consider  what  they  were 
likely  to  be  interested  in,  what  they  could  understand, 
what  they  could  bear,  and  his  own  tastes  and  sympathies 
might  be  very  much  like  theirs. 

Compared  with  the  first  two  Gospels,  the  third 
presents  characteristics  which  answer  to  this  hypotheti- 
cal state  of  matters.  A  large  number  of  particulars 
can  be  collected  from  its  pages  which,  taken  together, 
convey  the  impression  of  a  story  told  under  the  in- 
fluence of  certain  preconceived  ideas  or  predilections. 
They  are  too  many  to  be  accidental,  and  too  marked 
to  be  the  result  of  the  unconscious  action  of  the  stream 
of  tradition  rolling  evangelic  incidents  down  its  course, 
and  polishing  them  into  smoothness  as  it  carried  them 
along.  One  cannot  help  feeling  that  there  must  have 
been  intention  at  work,  at  some  point,  either  in  our 
Evangelist,  or  in  those  who  prepared  the  sources  from 
which  he  drew  his  information. 


IDEALISED    PICTURE   OF   LUKE  43 

The  features  of  the  narrative  which  most  plainly 
bear  traces  of  editorial  discretion  with  a  view  to  edi- 
fication relate  to  the  person  and  character  of  our  I^ord 
and  also  of  His  apostles.  The  writer  seems  never  to 
forget  the  present  position  of  those  of  whom  he  has 
occasion  to  speak,  as  the  Risen  Lord  of  the  Church, 
and  its  earthly  Heads.  The  frequent  use  of  the  title 
"  Lord  "  and  '^  Apostles  "  where  the  other  two  Evange- 
lists say  "Jesus,"  and  "Disciples"  at  once  exemplifies 
and  symbolises  the  reverential  attitude.  To  that  at- 
titude it  is  probably  further  due  that  some  things 
related  in  Matthew  and  Mark  are  omitted,  some 
things  strongly  emphasised,  some  things  set  in  a  sub- 
dued light,  and,  finally,  some  things  introduced  for 
the  first  time  into  the  evangelic  story:  all  making  for 
one  end,  giving  prominence  to  certain  aspects  of  the 
Saviour's  career  and  character  that  strongly  appeal  to 
faith  and  love,  and  throwing  into  the  shade  others 
making  severer  demands  on  the  power  of  appreciation. 
In  the  sections  of  the  narrative  relating  to  the  disciples 
the  apparent  tendency  is  to  gentle  handling  of  their 
weaknesses,  while  letting  it  be  seen  that  the  weak- 
nesses were  there. 

It  is  in  view  of  such  characteristics  as  those  above 
referred  to  that  I  apply  the  epithet  "  idealised  "  to  the 
picture  of  Jesus  presented  in  the  Third  Gospel.  The 
term  needs  to  be  guarded  against  possible  misappre- 
hension. It  might  suggest  the  idea  of  a  narrative 
dominated  by  a  theological  idea,  or  by  a  controversial 
tendency,  say  a  keen  interest  in  a  universal.  Gentile, 
Pauline    Christianity.      Such  a  bias  has   indeed   been 


44  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

ascribed  to  Luke,  but  dispassionate  investigation  finds 
little  trace  of  it.  The  Evangelist  is  doubtless  Pauline 
and  universalist  in  his  attitude,  and  it  gives  him 
pleasure  to  record  words  and  acts  of  Jesus  going  to 
prove  that  He  had  the  Gentiles  in  view  as  ultimate 
participants  in  the  blessings  of  His  gospel.  But  his 
interest  in  such  elements  of  the  evangelic  tradition  is 
religious,  not  controversial,  and  even  as  such  it  is  by 
no  means  keen,  absorbing,  predominant.  If  he  had 
been  a  controversial  Paulinist,  as  imagined  by  the 
famous  Tubingen  school,  he  would  have  taken  pains  to 
let  the  Twelve  appear  in  as  unfavourable  a  light  as  pos- 
sible, whereas  the  fact  is  he  "ever  spares"  them.  If 
he  had  been  a  keen  universalist,  he  would  have  reported 
certain  words  of  our  Lord  pointing  in  that  direction, 
given  both  in  Matthew  and  in  jNIark,  which  he  never- 
theless omits.  ^  When  therefore  the  picture  of  Jesus 
given  by  Luke  is  described  as  "  idealised,"  the  meaning 
is  that  his  presentation  is  dominated,  not  by  theo- 
logical ideas  or  controversial  tendency,  but  by  religious 
sentiment  having  its  root  either  in  the  personal  idiosyn- 
crasy of  the  writer,  or  in  considerate  regard  to  the  edi- 
fication of  his  first  readers. 

The  character  of  Christ  had  heights  and  depths  fitted 
to  test  severely  the  powers  of  comprehension  not  merely 
of  crude  disciples,  but  even  of  experienced,  mature 
Apostles  and  Evangelists.  Two  ways  of  dealing  with 
the  harder  sayings  and  doings  are  conceivable.  An 
Evangelist   might  relate  all  he  knew  as  it  happened, 

^  E.g.,  the  remarkable  word  in  Matthew  xxvi.  13,  Mark  xiv.  9: 
"  Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world,"  etc. 


IDEALISED    PICTURE   OF   LUKE  45 

and  leave  his  story  to  make  its  own  impression,  loyally 
trusting  that  the  character  described,  even  though  it 
should  be  in  some  respects  above  his  own  comprehen- 
sion, would  eventually  in  its  every  feature  commend  it- 
self to  the  minds  and  consciences  of  all  believers.  Or 
he  might,  so  to  speak,  take  the  character  of  Jesus  in 
charge,  and  allow  nothing  to  appear  which  was  "•  over 
the  head"  of  the  reporter,  or  which  he  feared  might 
prove  a  stumbling-block  to  those  whose  religious  bene- 
fit he  had  primarily  in  view  in  writing.  Which  of 
these  two  ways  of  discharging  the  Evangelist's  very  re- 
sponsible function  is  the  wiser,  it  is  needless  to  discuss ; 
perhaps  both  are  justifiable  in  given  circumstances. 
Anyhow,  the  fact  is  that  ]\lark  (and  Matthew  also)  has 
chosen  the  former  way,  and  Luke,  so  far  as  one  can 
judge,  the  latter.  At  all  events,  the  phenomena  of  his 
Gospel  are  such  as  fit  into  that  hypothesis.  There  are 
many  facts  bearing  that  complexion,  however  they  are 
to  be  explained.  I  shall  exhibit  them  with  some  meas- 
ure of  fulness,  believing  that  in  this  case  also  a  fear- 
less discussion  will  be  found  to  make  for  the  historicity 
of  the  evangelic  tradition.  And  for  the  more  complete 
inductive  verification  of  Luke's  method,  I  shall  briefly 
note  also  some  instances  of  his  discreet  manner  of  deal- 
ing with  materials  relating  to  the  disciples,  though  not 
they,  but  their  Master  be  our  theme.  It  may  be  best 
to  dispose  of  these  first. 

Luke,  it  has  been  said  by  a  very  reverent  commen- 
tator,!  ''ever  spares  the  Twelve."     As  a  matter  of  fact 
his  narratives,  compared  with   those  of  Matthew  and 
1  Schanz,  a  Catholic  professor  iu  Tubingen. 


46  WITH   OPEN    FACE 

Mark,  uniformly  treat  the  disciples  with  considerate 
gentleness.  How  true  this  is,  cannot  be  adequately 
shown  by  a  cursory  reference  to  illustrative  instances  ; 
the  passages  must  be  carefully  perused  and  compared 
with  the  parallels  in  tlie  other  Gospels.  Yet  even  the 
hastiest  glance  will  suffice  to  make  a  primd  facie  im- 
pression in  the  direction  of  our  thesis. 

Take  then,  to  begin  with,  the  treatment  of  Peter. 
The  stern  word,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,"  is 
omitted.  But  most  characteristic  is  the  manner  in 
which  the  most  humiliating  event  in  Peter's  disciple 
life,  his  denial  of  his  Lord,  is  dealt  with.  The  pre- 
intimation  of  the  coming  fall  is  most  gently  handled. 
The  harshness  of  the  announcement,  "  thou  shalt  deny 
me  thrice,"  is  softened  by  a  prefatory  statement,  in 
which  by  an  allusion  to  Satan  Peter's  ease  is  virtu- 
ally placed  beside  that  of  Job,  and  the  experience  is 
likened  to  a  sifting  process  whereby  a  saintly  charac- 
ter will  be  purged  of  its  weak,  chaff-like  elements, 
the  result  of  all  to  be  that  the  sifted  man  shall  be- 
come the  strongest  man  of  the  apostolic  band,  having 
it  for  his  honourable  vocation  to  succour  weaker 
brethren.^  And  what  a  benignant  under-statement  is 
the  account  of  the  denial !  No  mention  of  cursing 
and  swearing.  The  three  denials  form  an  anti-climax, 
each  succeeding  one  weaker  than  the  one  going  be- 
fore. In  the  first,  Peter  denies  all  knowledge  of 
Jesus;  in  the  second,  only  intimate  knowledge,  dis- 
cipleship ;  and  the  last,  occurring  an  hour  later  than 
the  one  preceding,  is  rather  an  evasion  than  a  denial : 
1  Luke  xxii.  31,  32. 


IDEALISED   PICTURE   OF   LUKE  47 

A  Galilean,  say  you  ?     Yes,  I  am,  and  I  don't  under- 
stand what  you  are  saying.  ^ 

The  whole  body  of  the  Twelve  are  treated  with 
equal  consideration.  Their  faults  —  ignorance,  weak 
faith,  mutual  rivalries  —  while  acknowledged  in  loy- 
alty to  truth,  are  touched  with  a  very  sparing  hand. 
Some  narratives  in  Avhich  these  appear  in  a  glaring 
manner  are  conspicuous  by  their  absence.  To  the 
omitted  incidents  belong  the  conversation  concerning 
the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  in  which,  as  Mark  reports 
it,  Jesus  complains  of  the  hardness  of  their  hearts, 
and  asks  reproachfully,  Do  not  ye  yet  understand?^ 
the  ambitious  request  of  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  in 
which  the  discord  within  the  disciple-circle  appears 
in  its  most  acute  form,^  and  the  anointing  in  ]5eth- 
any,  in  which  the  Twelve  show  a  prosaic  incapacity 
to  appreciate  the  pathetic,  poetic  deed  of  Mary.'*  To 
be  noted  also  in  this  connection  is  Luke's  silence  con- 
cerning the  flight  of  the  disciples  at  the  apprehension 
of  their  Master.  Even  more  instructive  than  this 
silence  is  the  mild,  delicate  way  in  which  the  faults 
of  the  future  Apostles  are  dealt  with  by  the  Evange- 
list when  he  is  compelled  to  speak  of  them.  Take, 
e.g.,  their  weak  faith.  In  the  storm  on  the  lake,  on 
the  eastward  voyage  towards  Gerasa,  as  reported  by 
iNIatthew  and  Mark,  Jesus  characterises  the  behaviour 
of  His  disciples  as  cowardly,  and  as  exhibiting  a  lack 

1  Luke  xxii.  55-62  ;  compare  with  Mark  xiv.  66-72. 
■^  Mark  viii.  11-21  ;  for  another  strong  reflection  on  the  ignorance 
of  the  disciples,  vide  chap.  vii.  18. 
3  Mark  x.  35-45  ;  Matt.  xx.  20-28. 
*  Mark  xiv.  3-9  ;  Matt.  xxvi.  6-13. 


48  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

of  faith. ^  In  Luke's  report,  with  just  the  slightest 
accent  of  rej)roach  in  His  tone,  He  asks,  "  Where  is 
your  faith  ?  '"  ^  Again,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  of  Trans- 
figuration, the  discij^les,  in  Matthew,  ask.  Why  could 
not  we  cast  it  out?  and  receive  for  reply.  Because 
of  your  little  faith ;  the  Master  going  on  to  indicate 
what  might}^  deeds  could  be  wrought  by  the  smallest 
grain  of  faith,  as  if  to  insinuate  that  they  had  none 
at  all.^  This  conversation,  connected  with  the  case  of 
the  epileptic  boy,  Luke  omits.  The  saying  concerning 
faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed  he  does  report,  but 
in  a  characteristically  different  setting.  The  Apos- 
tles say  unto  their  Lord,  Increase  our  faith  ;  and  He 
replies,  ''If  (as  is  the  case)  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed,  ye  would  say  unto  this  sycamore  tree, 
Be  thou  rooted  up  and  be  thou  planted  in  the  sea,  and 
it  would  have  obeyed  you,"  **  the  implied  assertion  be- 
ing that  the}'  have  already  enough  to  achieve  marvels. 
Note  again  how  the  Evangelist  disposes  of  the  rivalry 
among  the  companions  of  Jesus.  He  selects  as  the 
place  for  mentioning  it  the  story  of  the  Last  Supper 
on  the  eve  of  the  Passion.  Truly  a  most  unseemly 
time  for  disciples  to  indulge  in  ambitious  passions ! 
How  then  is  the  outbreak  dealt  with  ?  Jesus  first 
utters  the  words  of  admonition  which,  according  to 
Matthew  and  Mark,  He  spoke  on  the  occasion  wlien 
James  and  John  made  their  ambitious  request.  Then 
He  goes  on  immediately  after  to  pronounce  a  gener- 
ous eulogy  on  the  contending  disciples :   "  Ye  are  they 

1  Matt.  viii.  26  ;  3Tark  iv.  40.  2  x^^.g  yiii.  25. 

3  Matt.  xvii.  10,  20.  *  Luke  xvii.  5,  6. 


IDEALISED    PICTUIIE    OF    LUKE  49 

which  have  continued  with  Me  in  My  temptations  "  ?  ^ 
so,  as  it  were,  dwarfing  into  insignificance  the  petty 
fault  of  temper  in  comparison  with  the  heroic  fidel- 
ity. Just  one  point  more  I  barely  mention  here : 
Luke's  apology  for  the  failure  of  the  disciples  to 
keep  awake  when  their  Master  was  in  Gethsemane. 
"•  Sleeping /c»;'  sorrow!'"^  Doubtless  the  fact  was  so, 
but  he  is  careful  to  note  it.  How  true  it  is  that  he 
ever  spares  the  Twelve  ! 

But  it  is  wdth  Luke's  portraiture  of  our  Lord  that 
we  are  mainly  concerned  ;  I  proceed,  therefore,  to  in- 
dicate some  of  the  things  in  his  Gospel  which  lend 
distinctiveness  to  his  picture. 

1.  Among  these  fall  to  be  mentioned  some  notable 
omissions,  more  especially  some  of  the  more  remark- 
able words  reported  by  the  other  Evangelists  as  hav- 
ing been  spoken  by  Jesus.  Some  have  been  referred 
to  already  in  a  previous  cliapter,  such  as  the  realistic 
word  concerning  that  which  defileth,^  the  seemingly 
harsh  word  about  "  dogs "  spoken  to  the  woman  of 
Canaan,"*  and  the  stern  rebuke  administered  to  Peter  : 
"Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan."  Another  very  notice- 
able omission  is  the  saying  concerning  eunuchism  for 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to 
Matthew.^  Still  more  remarkable  is  the  omission  of 
the  awful  cry  of  Jesus  on  the  cross  :  "  My  God,  My 
God  !  "  ^  In  some  respects  the  most  surprising  omis- 
sion   of   all   is   the    very   important   word    spoken   by 

1  Luke  xxii.  28.  -  Luke  xxii.  45. 

3  Matt.  XV.  17, 18  ;  3Iark  vii.  18, 19.        *  3IaU.  xv.  26  ;  Mark  vii.  27. 

^  3Iatt.  xix.  12.  ^  Mait.  xxvii.  4(3 ;  3Iark  xv.  34. 


50  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

Jesus  on  the  occasion  of  the  ambitious  request  of 
James  and  John  :  "  The  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life 
a  ransom  for  many.''^  What  gives  this  omission  spe- 
cial claims  on  our  attention  is  the  fact  that  it  seems 
on  first  view  one  of  those  words  which,  assuming  his 
acquaintance  with  it,  Luke  would  have  taken  pains 
to  preserve.  Its  omission  is  a  problem  to  be  solved 
in  connection  with  his  Gospel.  But  this  is  only  a 
part  of  the  problem.  This  particular  saying  is  one 
of  four  containing  Christ's  teaching  concerning  the 
significance  of  His  death,  all  of  which,  with  one  very 
doubtful  exception,  are  wanting  in  the  Third  Gospel. 
This  is  a  fact  the  reason  and  meaning  of  which  de- 
serve careful  consideration,  and  they  will  be  con- 
sidered in  a  future  chapter.^  Meantime  I  simply  note 
this  as  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  Luke,  and  pass  on 
to  a  second  class  of  phenomena  which  make  this  Evan- 
gelist's picture  of  Jesus  so  distinctive. 

2.  The  things  which  are  strongly  emphasised.  First, 
let  it  be  remarked  in  general  that  there  are  such  phe- 
nomena in  the  Third  Gospel.  Luke  does  not  always 
tone  down  and  deal  in  mitigated  statements.  He  can 
be  as  emphatic  and  realistic  as  either  of  his  brother 
Evangelists  when  it  suits  his  purpose,  and  this  very 
occasional  emphasis  gives  added  significance  to  the 
opposite  quality  of  subdued  expression  observable  in 
some  of  his  narratives.  Among  the  instances  in  which 
he  does  not  shrink  from  strong  sayings  are  his  reports 
of  words  spoken  by  our  Lord  in  reference  to  wealth 
1  Matt.  XX.  28  ;  Mark  x.  45.  ^  y^^ig  chap.  xii. 


IDEALISED    PICTURE   OF    LUKE  51 

and  its  possessors.  The  hard  saying  concerning  the 
camel  and  the  needle's  eye  fnids  a  place  in  his  pages.  ^ 
It  is  in  his  Gospel  we  find  the  woes  pronounced  on  the 
rich,  the  full,  and  the  merry. ^  In  the  parables  of  the 
Unjust  Steward  and  Dives  ^  riches  almost  seem  to  be  in 
themselves  evil,  and  the  bare  fact  of  possessing  them 
appears  to  be  represented  as  a  ground  of  perdition.  It 
may  be  only  an  appearance,  but  it  is  there,  requiring 
explanation  ;  and  the  thing  to  be  noted  is  that  the 
Evangelist  takes  no  pains  in  this  case  to  prevent  misap- 
prehension. The  fact  may  be  due  in  part  to  the  nature 
of  his  own  social  sympathies,  partly  to  his  knowing 
that  there  was  no  risk  of  any  of  his  readers  stumbling 
over  such  sayings  of  the  Lord. 

Luke  emphasises  whatever  tends  to  bring  out  into 
strong  relief  the  lyoiuer^  the  benevolence^  and  the  saintli- 
ness  of  Jesus.  His  desire  to  make  prominent  the  two 
former  of  these  attributes  is  apparent  in  his  narratives 
of  healing  acts.  Peter's  mother-in-law  is  ill  of  a  great 
fever,*  and  the  leper  is  full  of  leprosy,^  and  in  the  story 
of  the  blind  man  at  Jericho  care  is  taken  to  make  it 
appear  a  case  of  total  blindness  by  representing  the  suf- 
ferer as  needing  some  one  to  conduct  him  to  the  pres- 
ence of  Jesus. ^  There  is  no  good  ground  for  regarding 
these  statements  as  exaggerations,  but  it  is  legitimate 
to  see  in  them  a  wish  to  make  the  cure  effected  stand 
out  in  the  full  measure  of  its  marvellousness.  The 
greatness  of  the  benefit  conferred,  that  is  the  benevo- 

1  Liike  xviii.  24.  ^  Luke  vi.  24,  25. 

3  Luke  xvi.  *  Luke  iv.  38. 

5  Luke  V.  12.  6  Luke  xviii.  40. 


52  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

leiice  of  the  Healer,  is  also  rendered  prominent  by 
many  a  slight  but  significant  touch.  The  withered 
hand  restored  on  a  Sabbath  is  the  righf^  hand,  most 
useful  for  labour ;  the  centurion's  servant  is  one  dear 
to  him ;  ^  the  son  of  the  widow  of  Nain  is  an  only  son,  ^ 
and  the  daughter  of  Jairus  an  only  daughter  ;  *  the 
epileptic  boy  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  of  Transfiguration 
is  also  an  only  child.^ 

The  holiness  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  carefully  accentu- 
ated in  this  Gospel.  The  call  of  Peter  to  discipleship, 
which  here  assumes  larger  proportions  and  greater 
significance  than  it  possesses  in  Matthew  and  Mark,  is 
made  to  contribute  to  this  end.  Here  Peter  is  the 
great  disciple,  the  representative  man  among  the 
Twelve,  therefore  his  call  is  related  with  much  circum- 
stantiality, while  that  of  the  others,  James,  John,  and 
Andrew,  is  thrown  into  the  shade.  Yet  even  he,  the 
pillar- Apostle  of  future  years,  in  view  of  the  marvel- 
lous take  of  fishes,  exclaims,  "  Depart  from  me,  for  I 
am  a  sinful  man,  O  Lord."  The  foremost  of  the  dis- 
ciples feels  himself  unworthy  to  join  the  society  of 
the  Holy  One.^ 

In  every  saintly  character  prayer^  a  devotional  spirit, 
forms  a  prominent  feature.  This  trait  in  the  character 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  accordingly  made  very  prominent 
in  Luke's  Gospel.  After  the  healing  of  the  leper  Jesus 
withdraws  into  lonely  spots  to  pray.'  The  teaching  on 
the  hill  is  inaugurated  by  a  night  spent  in  prayer.^ 

^  Luke  vi.  G.  2  Lu]^;^  vii.  2.  ^  L\ike  vii.  12. 

*  Luke  viii.  42.  ^  LuJce  ix.  38.  *^  Luke  v.  8. 

"  Luke  V.  16.  8  Luke  vi.  12, 


IDEALISED   PICTURE    OF    LUKE  53 

Prayer  formed  the  prelude  to  the  momentous  communi- 
cations on  the  Messiahship  and  the  approaching  Pas- 
sion ;  1  likewise  to  the  mysterious  Transfiguration 
scene. 2  Sometimes  the  Master  prayed  alone,  sometimes 
in  the  presence  of  His  disciples.  Hearing  Him  pray  in 
a  certain  place  awoke  in  them  a  desire  for  instruction 
in  an  art  in  which  they  felt  the  Master  left  them  far 
behind.^  He  prayed  for  them  as  well  as  in  their  hear- 
ing ;  for  Peter,  for  example,  when  the  hour  of  his  trial 
was  nigh.* 

3.  I  pass  now  to  the  category  of  understatement.,  things 
presented  in  a  subdued  light.  Both  words  and  acts  of 
Jesus  fall  to  be  noticed  here.  To  the  former  belong 
the  words  spoken  at  Capernaum  in  reference  to  the  dis- 
cussion that  had  arisen  within  the  disciple-circle  on  the 
question  :  Who  is  the  greatest  ?  According  to  the  re- 
23ort  of  Matthew,  the  Master  then  spoke  two  very  stern 
words,  one  directly  addressed  to  the  disciples,  the  other 
bearing  on  the  doom  due  to  the  man  who,  in  the  pur- 
suit of  ambitious  ends,  should  cause  any  little  one  to 
stumble.  In  the  former  discijDles  are  threatened  with 
exclusion  from  the  kingdom  unless  their  disposition 
undergo  a  change,  and  ambitious  passions  give  place  to 
a  childlike  spirit.  In  the  latter  it  is  intimated  that  the 
fate  deserved  by  the  offender  of  the  little  ones  is  that  a 
large  millstone  (literally  one  driven  by  an  ass,  as  op- 
posed to  a  small  one  worked  by  the  hand)  be  hanged 
about  his  neck,  and  that  he  be  drowned  in  the  deepest 
part  of  the  sea.^    Words,  both,  expressive  of  passionate 

1  Luke  ix.  18.  2  ^M^-e  ix.  29.  ^  £„^e  xi.  1. 

*  Luke  xxii.  32.  &  Matt,  xviii.  3,  6. 


54  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

abhorrence  of  selfish  ambition  and  the  mischief  it  works, 
by  the  utterance  of  which  Jesus  commands  our  admira- 
tion and  inspires  in  our  hearts  holy  awe.  But  Luke 
has  dealt  with  these  solemn  sa3dngs  in  a  way  which 
prevents  them  from  having  their  full  effect,  toning 
down  the  millstone  saying  so  that  it  loses  its  note  of 
indignant  intensity,^  and  transferring  the  other  to  a 
different  occasion,  where  it  loses  the  personal  reference 
to  the  disciples,  and  becomes  a  general  declaration  as 
to  the  necessity  of  childlikeness  for  admission  into  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven.  The  new  setting  is  furnished  by 
the  incident  of  the  mothers  bringing  their  little  chil- 
dren to  be  blessed  by  Jesus,^  which,  I  may  remark  in 
passing,  supplies  a  fresh  instance  of  Luke's  habit  of 
sparing  the  Twelve.  Mark  tells  that  Jesus  was  much 
displeased  with  His  disciples  for  trying  to  keep  the 
children  from  His  presence.^  Of  this  the  third  Evan- 
gelist says  nothing.  The  omission  has  the  same  effect 
as  the  toning  down  of  the  words  under  consideration. 
Both  keep  the  indignation  of  Jesus  out  of  view,  and 
suggest  the  idea  of  one  who  was  always  calm  in  temper 
and  passionlessly  didactic  in  speech.  Whether  this 
passionlessness  entered  into  the  Evangelist's  own  idea 
of  sanctity,  or  whether  in  so  reporting  the  Lord's 
words  he  was  considering  what  his  readers  could  bear, 
it  may  be  difficult  to  determine.     What  is  certain  is 

1  Luke  xvii.  2:  The  ass-millstone  becomes  a  millstone  simply,  and 
"the  sea"  stands  in  place  of  "the  depth  of  the  sea."  Luke  gives 
neither  of  the  sayings  in  connection  with  the  Capernaum  discourse  on 
humility.       Vide  chap.  ix.  46-48. 

-  Luke  xviii.  15-17. 

3  Mark  x.  14. 


IDEALISED   PICTURE   OF    LUKE  55 

that  the   character  of   Jesus  thus  portrayed  gains  in 
amiability  at  the  cost  of  its  power  and  majesty. 

A  similar  observation  is  suggested  by  Luke's  treat- 
ment of  our  Lord's  anti-Pharisaic  protest.  Two  facts 
have  to  be  noticed  here  :  extensive  omission,  and  a  new 
setting  given  to  much  that  is  retained.  As  to  the 
former,  so  much  has  been  left  out  that  from  Luke's 
Gospel  alone  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to  obtain  any 
adequate  idea  of  the  viciousness  of  Pharisaic  religion, 
or  of  the  thoroughness  and  exhaustiveness  of  the  criti- 
cism which  Jesus  directed  against  it.  In  proof  of  this 
statement  it  will  suffice  to  mention  the  omission  of  the 
great  body  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  consisting  of 
an  elaborate  contrast  between  righteousness  as  con- 
ceived by  the  scribes  and  the  righteousness  of  the  king- 
dom as  conceived  by  the  Preacher,  and  also  of  one-half 
of  the  great  final  philippic  against  Pharisaism  as 
recorded  in  Matthew  xxiii.  But  it  is  the  setting  of 
what  is  retained  that  at  present  concerns  us.  It  strikes 
me  as  most  characteristic  and  instructive.  The  fact 
here  is  that  much  of  what  Luke  reports  of  our  Lord's 
anti-Pharisaic  discourses  appears  in  his  Gospel  as 
spoken  not  merely  about  Pharisees  but  to  them  by  Jesus 
sitting  as  a  guest  at  their  tables.  On  three  distinct 
occasions  Jesus  appears  in  his  pages  as  a  guest  in  the 
houses  of  Pharisees,  and  speaks  His  mind  about  their 
ways  with  urbanity  though  also  with  freedom. ^  Of 
such  semi-friendly  social  relations  there  is  no  trace  in 
Matthew  and  Mark,  and  we  might  easily  take  away 
from  their  narratives  the  impression  that  such  relations 
1  Luke  vii.  36-50,  xi.  37-52,  xiv.  1-24. 


56  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

were  impossible.  That  might  be  a  hasty  inference. 
It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  Jesus  would  not  re- 
fuse such  invitations,  and  that  He  would  be  true  to 
Himself  wherever  He  was.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
equally  certain  that  His  attitude  towards  Pharisaism 
was  uncompromising,  and  His  speech  about  it,  especially 
at  the  end,  crushing  and  tremendous.  And  the  thing 
to  be  noted  about  Luke  is  that  he  mitigates  the  severity 
of  the  sterner  utterances  by  giving  as  table-talk  what 
in  Matthew's  Gospel  appears  as  part  of  a  solemn  final 
protest  in  Jerusalem  against  the  religious  guides  of 
Israel  and  all  their  ways.^ 

The  chief  instances  of  pruned  statement  concerning 
the  actions  of  Jesus  are  the  narratives  of  the  Cleansing 
of  the  Temple  and  the  Agony  in  the  Garden.  The 
latter  will  fall  to  be  considered  at  a  later  stage  of  these 
studies;  therefore  for  the  present  I  content  myself  with 
a  few  words  on  the  former.  Of  the  three  synoptical 
Evangelists,  Mark  describes  the  scene  in  the  strongest 
colours,  but  both  Matthew  and  he  tell  the  story  in 
substantially  the  same  way.  In  both  Jesus  not  merely 
speaks  in  a  tone  of  indignant  remonstrance,  but  acts 
with  a  stormy  energy  that  might  easily  be  mistaken  for 
violence,  overturning  the  tables  of  the  money-changers 
and  the  seats  of  them  that  sold  the  doves.  He  makes 
a  clean  sweep  of  the  unholy  traffic  within  the  sacred 
precincts,  unceremoniously  turning  out  not  merely  those 
that  sold  but  also  those  that  bought  as  art  and  part  in 
the  work  of  desecration.  Of  this  animated  transaction, 
Luke  offers  a  very  reduced  and  unsensational  account, 
1  Vide  in  chap.  xi.  37  ff. 


IDEALISED    PlCTUliE    OF    LUKE  67 

telling  how  Jesus,  entering  the  temple,  began  to  cast 
out  them  that  sold,  making  no  mention  of  the  over- 
turned tables  and  seats,  adding  only  the  complaint:  It 
is  written,  And  My  house  shall  be  a  house  of  prayer, 
but  ye  have  made  it  a  den  of  robbers.^  His  report 
gives  really  no  idea  of  the  scene;  the  one  vivid  feature 
is  the  comparison  of  the  desecrated  temple  to  a  robber's 
den.  And  yet  from  that  strong  utterance  one  might 
suspect  that  there  was  something  behind  left  unsaid. 
It  seems  to  be  a  half-told  tale,  as  if  adapted  to  the  capac- 
ities of  spiritual  minors,  who  would  find  it  difficult  to 
reconcile  the  strenuous  conduct  of  Jesus  with  their 
preconceived  ideas  of  His  character.  Probably  what 
interested  Luke  himself  was  not  the  drastic  action  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  but  the  verdict  He  pronounced  on  the 
Holy  House  as  no  longer  holy,  justifying  beforehand 
that  still  more  drastic  action  of  Providence  by  which 
the  temple,  at  the  time  he  wrote,  had  been  turned  into 
a  heap  of  ruins.  Whatever  the  reason,  the  fact  is  that 
in  this  case,  as  in  others,  the  third  Evangelist  presents 
a  picture  of  Jesus  which  lacks  the  element  of  tragic 
grandeur. 

4.  For  this  defect  Luke  amply  compensates  by  the 
attractive  exhibition  which  he  makes  of  the  grace  of 
Jesus,  especially  in  the  additioyis  he  contributes  to  the 
common  stock  of  evangelic  traditions. 

Luke's  additions,  though  not  exclusively,  are  pre- 
dominantly, such  as  serve  this  valuable  purpose.     They 

^  Luke  xix.  45,  46:  the  words  "them  that  bought"  have  no  place 
in  the  best  MS.  copies  of  tlie  Greek  Testament,  and  are  omitted  in  the 
Revised  Version. 


58  WITH   OPEN    FACE 

may  for  the  most  part  be  described  by  the  happy  phrase 
he  employs  to  indicate  the  character  of  Christ's  address 
in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth:  "words  of  grace."  ^ 
He  had  evidently  taken  pains  to  collect  material  of 
this  kind.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  historicity 
of  his  collections.  The  statement  in  his  preface  justi- 
fies the  assumption  that  for  every  one  of  his  narratives 
he  had  a  voucher  in  oral  or  in  written  tradition.  Then 
there  is  intrinsic  probability  on  the  side  of  liis  j^eculiar 
contributions.  Love  to  the  sinful  and  the  social  out- 
casts was  unquestionably  a  most  outstanding  charism  of 
Jesus.  Most  authentic  sayings  of  His,  such  as  "  I  came 
not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners,"  and  "  The  Son 
of  man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  Avhich  was  lost," 
entitle  us  to  look  for  illustrative  anecdotes  in  the 
memorabilia  of  His  public  ministry.  Instead  of  ques- 
tioning the  truth  of  those  Luke  has  preserved,  Ave 
rather  wonder  at  the  paucity  of  such  material  in  the 
companion  Gospels.  We  feel  sure  that  interesting 
stories  of  the  relations  of  Jesus  with  the  sinful,  and  of 
His  sayings  about  them,  might  be  forthcoming,  if  pains 
were  taken  to  collect  them.  Luke  happily  has  taken 
pains,  possibly  in  part  because  he  noticed  a  lack  in 
jNIatthew  or  in  Mark,  and  felt  he  must  set  himself  to 
supply  it.  What  he  has  given  by  way  of  supplement 
is  very  welcome  as  well  as  very  credible.  The  story 
of  the  woman  in  Simon's  house  ^  is  pure  evangelic  gold. 
So  are  the  exquisite  parables  concerning  the  joy  of 
finding  things  lost.^     The  same  grace-revealing  charac- 

1  Luke  iv.  22.  -  Luke  vii.  36-50. 

^  L^ike  XV. 


IDEALISED   PICTURE   OF   LUKE  59 

ter  belongs  to  the  parables  of  the  Good  Samaritan,^  the 
Great  Supper,^  and  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican.^ 
They  foster  the  saving  instinct,  and  hold  out  hope  to 
those  who  need  to  be  succoured  and  saved.  The  last- 
named  is  described  as  a  parable  concerning  those  who 
trusted  in  themselves  that  they  were  righteous,  and 
despised  others.  Its  aim  is  to  condemn  not  merely  the 
self-complacency,  but  more  especially  the  contempt,  and 
to  encourage  the  despised  by  letting  them  know  that 
they  were  at  least  not  beyond  the  sympathies  of  God. 
The  winsome  stories  of  Zacchffius  *  and  the  penitent 
thief  s  worthily  crown  a  collection  of  gleanings  which 
fully  justify  the  encomium  on  Luke's  Gospel  that  it  is 
"the  Gospel  of  the  sinful." 

Little  needs  to  be  added  by  way  of  summarising  the 
results  of  the  foregoing  discussion.  The  particulars 
under  the  four  heads  of  omissions,  emphasised  state- 
ments, under-statements,  and  additions,  all  conspire  to 
one  end,  viz.,  to  exhibit  the  Lord  of  the  Church  divine 
in  Power,  Holiness,  and  Goodness.  The  holiness  of 
Jesus  is  so  zealously  guarded  that  He  appears  not  only 
without  sin  but  even  free  from  all  that  bears  the  most 
remote  resemblance  to  moral  infirmity  in  temper,  word, 
or  action.  The  result  is  that  the  natural  individuality 
of  Jesus,  so  conspicuous  in  Mark,  is  seen  in  Luke  only 
in  faded  outline.  Luke's  picture  of  Jesus  is  one-sided. 
The  side  shown  is  indeed  so  attractive  that  we  thank 
the  Evangelist  for  Avhat  he  has  given  rather  than  blame 
him  for  what  he  has  withheld.     Yet  we  ought  distinctly 

1  Luke  X.  25-37.  ^  Luke  xiv.  15-24.  »  Luke  xviii.  9-14. 

4  Luke  xix.  1-10.  ^  Luke  xxiii.  39-43. 


60  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

to  see,  and  acknowledge  to  ourselves,  that  his  presenta- 
tion is  defective.  We  cannot  accept  as  complete  a 
Christ  who  is  simply  good  and  kind.  We  need  a 
Christ  who  can  be  angry,  indignant,  terrible  in  passion- 
ate abhorrence  of  evil ;  who  can  hurl  thunder-bolts  of 
denunciation  at  the  "unwedgeable  and  gnarled  oak"  of 
powerful,  privileged,  and  plausible  iniquity.  The  love 
of  Jesus  to  the  sinful,  as  it  appears  in  this  Gospel,  is 
beautiful;  but  the  hatred  of  Pharisaism  which  is  some- 
what throAvn  into  the  background  is  equally  indispen- 
sable. So  likewise  is  the  stern  purpose,  at  all  costs,  to 
purge  out  of  the  disciples  evil  elements  of  temper 
which,  left  unchecked,  would  soon  turn  the  new  society 
of  which  they  were  to  form  the  nucleus  into  a  com- 
munity little  better  in  spirit  than  that  in  which  the 
scribes  bore  sway.  Who  that  considers  to  what  extent 
Christianity  has  been  wrecked  by  priestly  assumption 
can  regret  that  the  evangelic  records  have  so  faithfully 
shown  how  contrary  that  leaven  was  to  the  mind  of  the 
Lord  Jesus? 

The  view  I  have  ventured  to  present  of  Luke's  treat- 
ment of  the  evangelic  tradition,  in  so  far  as  it  concerns 
the  persons  of  Jesus  and  His  disciples,  can  be  turned  to 
some  account  for  apologetic  purposes.  It  makes  for  the 
historicity  of  the  Synoptical  records.  The  remark  ap- 
plies even  to  Luke's  omissions.  These  at  first  view 
seem  to  cast  a  dark  shadow  of  doubt  on  the  historical 
value  of  the  material  omitted.  We  are  inclined  to 
argue:  if  Luke  had  known  these  things,  he  would  have 
reported  them ;  and  how  could  a  man  who  took  such 
pains  to  inform  himself  fail  to  know  them  if  they  had 


IDEALISED    PICTURE   OP   LUKE  61 

been  actual  facts  ?  When  the  element  of  intention  is 
introduced,  this  reasoning  falls  to  the  ground.  We 
then  perceive  that  there  were  classes  of  facts  which  the 
Evangelist  would  not  care  to  preserve.  Things  not 
known,  therefore  presumably  not  real,  become  things 
probably  known  which  the  Evangelist  did  not  choose 
to  introduce  into  his  narrative.  At  the  very  least,  in- 
tentional omission,  once  established,  cancels  all  presump- 
tion against  historicity.  On  the  other  hand,  abridged 
or  qualified  reporting  bears  positive  evidence  to  the 
reality  of  the  fact  reported.  Whatever  a  writer  tones 
down  he  is  tempted  to  omit.  In  adopting  the  course 
of  understating  rather  than  omitting  he  becomes,  so 
to  speak,  a  reluctant  witness  to  the  historicity  of  the 
materials  so  dealt  with.  Finally,  even  heightened  state- 
ments in  their  own  way  contribute  to  the  cumulative 
apologetic  argument.  If  the  added  elements  be  the 
result  of  fuller  information,  this  is  self-evident.  Even 
if  they  be  exaggerations  for  a  purpose,  they  tend  to 
establish  the  truth  of  the  basal  narrative.  They  show 
within  what  narrow  limits  editorial  discretion  was 
willing  to  restrict  itself.  An  author  who  has  ideas  to 
embody  is  tempted  to  invent  when  he  cannot  find. 
Luke  did  not  invent,  but  only  at  most  touched  up 
stories  given  to  his  hand  by  a  reliable  tradition.  This 
is  his  method  in  narratives  common  to  his  Gospel  with 
those  of  Matthew  and  Mark.  Noting  this,  we  can  well 
believe  it  to  have  been  his  method  all  through,  even 
in  those  portions  of  his  Gospel  where  he  is  our  sole 
authority. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY 

The  first  thing  the  average  reader  of  the  Gospels 
has  to  do  in  reference  to  this  department  of  our 
Lord's  work  is  to  get  it  fairly  into  his  mind  that 
there  was  such  a  thing  as  a  systematic  synagogue 
ministry.  With  the  exception  of  the  narratives  relat- 
ing to  visits  made  to  the  two  synagogues  of  Caper- 
naum and  Nazareth,  the  Gospels  contain  only  general 
statements,  such  as  that  in  Mark  i.  39  :  "  He  preached 
in  their  synagogues  throughout  all  Galilee,  and  cast 
out  devils."  ^  Such  summary  notices,  giving  no  de- 
tails, make  little  impression  on  the  mind.  You  read 
the  words,  pass  on,  and  the  fact  briefly  stated  takes 
no  place  in  your  permanent  conception  of  Christ's 
evangelistic  activities.  Even  when  we  pause  to  reflect 
for  a  moment  on  what  these  general  statements  say, 
we  are  apt  to  think  that  they  are  not  to  be  taken  in 
earnest,  as  pointing  to  a  deliberately  planned,  per- 
sistent, extensive  effort  to  bring  to  the  ears  of  the 
men  of  Galilee,  through  the  convenient  medium  of 
the  synagogue,  the  good  news  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
The  clearest  evidence  that  this  is  a  mistaken  view 

^  Vide  also  in  Matthew  iv.  23. 
62 


THE   SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY  63 

is  contained  in  Mark  i.  38,  where  Jesus  is  represented 
as  giving  such  a  preconceived  plan  as  His  reason  for 
leaving  Capernaum.  "  Let  us  go  into  the  next  towns, 
that  I  may  preach  there  also  ;  for  therefore  came  I 
forth,"  He  has  addressed  a  Sabbath  audience  in  one 
synagogue,  and  He  desires  to  do  the  same  elsewhere. 
The  manner  of  His  departure  lends  emphasis  to  the 
purpose.  It  was  hasty,  because  He  feared  that  the 
time  of  His  Galilean  ministry  might  be  cut  short, 
and  His  preaching  mission  interrupted,  by  the  enmity 
of  the  scribes.  A  synagogue  ministry,  as  distinct 
from  a  street  ministry,  depended  on  the  good-will  of 
others,  and  Jesus  understood  that  it  must  begin  at 
once  if  it  was  to  be  at  all.  The  departure  was  secret, 
before  the  dawn,  while  men  slept,  because  He  feared 
detention  by  a  people  valuing  His  presence  for  the 
healing  power  displayed  on  so  splendid  a  scale  on 
the  previous  Sabbath  evening.  Evidently  Jesus  is 
very  much  in  earnest  about  that  preaching  tour.  It 
is  not  an  afterthought,  or  a  pretext,  but  a  fixed  pur- 
pose ;  one  of  the  main  lines  along  which  He  means 
to  conduct  His  work  as  the  Light  of  Galilee.  The 
prayer  with  which  He  ushered  in  the  day  on  the 
eventful  morning  of  that  flight  from  Capernaum  shows 
the  same  thing.  In  the  life  of  Jesus,  protracted  soli- 
tary prayer  was  ever  the  prelude  of  important  under- 
takings. 

The  plan  was  a  large  one.  "  In  their  synagogues 
throughout  all  Galilee  "  :  that  meant  many  sermons. 
In  the  time  of  our  Lord  there  were  many  towns  in 
that  province  large  enough  to  have  at  least  one  syn- 


64  WITH   OPEN    FACE 

agogue.  Josephiis  gives  the  number  at  204,  the 
smallest  of  them  havmg  15,000  inhabitants.^  Even 
supposing,  with  many  modern  scholars,  that  there  is 
some  mistake  or  exaggeration  in  the  statement,  it 
witnesses  indubitably  to  a  very  thickly -peopled  coun- 
try. What  a  time  it  would  take  to  go  over  all  these 
towns,  even  if  advantage  were  taken  of  the  week-day 
meetings  on  Mondays  and  Fridays,  as  well  as  of  the 
more  solemn  assemblies  for  worship  on  the  Sabbaths. 
The  scheme  would  assume  more  manageable  dimen- 
sions if  the  purpose  was  to  visit  chiefly  the  smaller 
towns.  This  is  suggested  by  the  Greek  phrase  for 
which  the  English  equivalent  in  the  Authorised  Ver- 
sion is  "next  towns,"  the  literal  meaning  being  the 
next  village-toyvns.'^  It  is  not  improbable  that  Jesus, 
knowing  that  a  selection  must  be  made,  resolved  to 
visit,  in  the  first  place,  the  lesser  centres  of  popula- 
tion, having  possibly  only  a  single  synagogue.  He 
might  be  led  to  adopt  this  course  by  various  con- 
siderations :  His  deep  yearning  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  the  poor,  the  likelihood  of  greater  receptivity  to 
His  message  among  villagers,  the  hope  that  much 
good  work  jnight  thus  be  done  quietly,  with  smaller 
risk  of  attracting  the  sinister  attention  of  the  relig- 
ious authorities. 

How  far  did  Jesus  succeed  in  carrying  out  His 
beneficent  plan?  The  expression  "all  Galilee,"  used 
by  the  Evangelists,  would  seem  to  point  to  complete 
execution.      But  perhaps  we  ought  not  to  press  the 

1  Vide  his  Vita,  chap,  xlv.,  and  B.  J.,  iii.  3,  2. 
^  et's  rds  exofi^vas  KWfiOTr6\€i.i  (^Mark  i.  38). 


THE   SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY  65 

"all,"  but  take  the  fact  to  be  that  a  very  consider- 
able number  of  places  were  visited  in  succession  so 
as  to  justify  such  a  colloquial  exaggeration.  This 
speaks  to  an  interval  of  months  between  the  time  of 
Christ's  departure  from  Capernaum  to  that  of  His 
return.  From  Mark  ii.  1  indeed  we  might  infer  that 
the  period  consisted  of  only  a  few  days.  But  a 
slightly  altered  grouping  of  the  words  does  away 
with  that  impression.  Instead  of  the  rendering  in 
the  Authorised  Version:  "And  again  He  entered 
into  Capernaum  after  some  days,  and  it  was  noised 
that  He  was  in  the  house,"  we  may  substitute  :  "  And 
He  entered  again  into  Capernaum,  and  after  some 
days  the  report  went  abroad  :  He  is  home."  The 
situation  is  easily  conceivable.  Jesus  returns  almost 
as  quietly  as  He  went  away.  He  is  some  days  in 
the  town  before  they  know.  But  when  they  know, 
what  lively  interest  in  the  fact  !  The  memory  of 
events  now  some  months  old  revives  :  the  marvellous 
address  in  the  synagogue,  followed  by  an  equally  mar- 
vellous cure  ;  the  marvels  of  the  day  crowned  and 
eclipsed  by  the  wholesale  healing  ministry  of  the  even- 
ing. They  say  to  one  another  :  the  great  Preacher 
and  Healer  is  back  among  us  again.  "  He  is  home." 
Yes  !  home  and  welcome  to  most,  but  not  to  all. 
The  situation  is  altered  somewhat.  The  scribes  are 
on  the  alert.  So  when  the  crowd  gathers  around  the 
newly  returned  Master,  some  of  them  are  present  to 
watch  what  goes  on.  And  when  a  poor  paralysed 
man,  physically  and  morally  a  wreck,  is  brought  to  be 
healed,  and  Jesus,  going  to  the  root  of  the  evil  and 


66  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

aiming  at  reviving  the  smoking  wick  of  hope  in  the 
poor  sufferer's  breast,  says  in  cordial  tones  :  "  Courage, 
child !  thy  sins  are  forgiven,"  the  scribes,  by  look  if 
not  by  audible  word,  say  :  '■'•  Why  does  this  person 
thus  speak?  he  blasphemeth."  Here  at  last  is  the 
mischief  Jesus  instinctively  feared  from  the  first,  the 
well-grounded  dread  making  Him  anxious  to  start  on 
the  preaching  tour  as  quickly  as  possible,  in  hope  to 
get  over  a  considerable  amount  of  ground  before  the 
latent  antagonism  began  to  reveal  itself  in  active  at- 
tempts at  frustration.  What  if  such  attempts  have 
brought  Him  back  to  Capernaum  sooner  than  He 
otherwise  would  have  come  ?  What  if  secret  corre- 
spondence between  the  scribes  of  Capernaum  and  the 
rulers  of  synagogues  in  other  towns  have  resulted  in 
closed  doors,  opportunities  of  speech  refused,  a  bene- 
ficent plan  broken  off  half  executed?  It  is  not  un- 
likely. Reading  between  the  lines,  we  get  this  as  a 
not  improbable  version  of  the  story  :  Jesus  meant  to 
evangelise  all  Galilee,  and  He  did  actually  preach  in 
not  a  few  synagogues,  but  ecclesiastical  wire-pulling 
interrupted  His  work  ;  the  scribes  compelled  Him  to 
return  prematurely  home,  and  they  were  there  to 
watch  Him  on  His  return. 

Concerning  the  synagogue  ministry,  we  have,  as 
already  indicated,  little  definite  information.  Yet  we 
are  not  so  entirely  in  the  dark  as  to  its  nature  as  we 
might  at  first  imagine.  We  know  the  general  features 
of  that  ministry,  the  estimates  formed  of  it  by  the  peo- 
ple and  by  the  Evangelists,  and  at  least  the  text  of  one 
of  the  addresses. 


THE   SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY  67 

1.  The  general  features  were  preacliing^  teaching^  and 
healing  according  to  Matthew,  preaching  and  castiiig  out 
devils  according  to  Mark.  By  preaching,  as  distinct 
from  teaching,  may  be  understood  the  proclamation  of 
the  elementary  truths  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God 
as  a  kingdom  of  grace  :  the  paternal  love  of  God,  the 
hope  that  is  in  His  mercy  for  the  most  sinful,  the  worth 
of  man  to  God  even  at  the  worst,  the  duty  of  repen- 
tance, and  the  possibilities  of  sanctity  for  the  penitent. 
By  teaching,  on  the  other  hand,  is  denoted  instruction 
in  the  theory,  so  to  speak,  of  the  kingdom:  its  absolute 
worth,  its  imperial  claims,  its  moral  ideal  in  itself  and 
in  contrast  to  current  conceptions.  From  the  nature 
of  the  case,  and  from  the  omission  by  Mark  of  any 
separate  mention  of  teaching,  it  is  probable  that  preach- 
ing was  the  staple  element  in  our  Lord's  synagogue 
discourses.  Teaching  was  for  disciples,  preaching  for 
the  people.  That  healing  acts  were  a  frequent  accom- 
paniment of  the  preaching  goes  without  saying.  For 
even  if  Jesus  did  not  start  on  His  Galilean  mission 
with  a  set  purpose  to  heal.  He  was  always  willing  to 
give  succour  on  demand.  And  as  disease  is  every- 
where, and  the  desire  for  healing  is  not  less  universal, 
it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  there  were  few  of  the 
village  towns  where  something  similar  to  the  incident 
in  the  Capernaum  synagogue  did  not  happen :  demonia- 
cal possession  or  some  other  human  ailment  cured  by 
the  Preacher  to  the  astonishment  of  all.  The  story  of 
Christ's  visit  to  the  synagogue  in  Capernaum  may  be 
taken  as  a  sample  of  what  occurred  all  over  Galilee. 
One  exception  indeed  is  specified,  and  it  may  be  viewed 


68  WITH   OPEN    FACE 

as  an  exception  which  proves  the  rule.  Jesus,  it  is 
recorded,  did  no  mighty  work  in  Nazareth;^  not  for 
want  of  sick  people,  nor  for  want  of  power,  but  because 
the  villagers  would  not  give  Him  the  chance.  They 
were  so  chagrined  at  a  fellow-townsman  being  so  dis- 
tinguished that  they  would  rather  let  their  diseased 
relatives  die  than  give  Him  an  opportunity  of  showing 
His  greatness.     So  far  can  prejudice  go.^ 

2.  The  reported  estimates  of  the  synagogue  ministry 
are  various.  That  of  the  people,  as  is  their  way,  was 
merely  emotional,  an  expression  of  honest  and  intense 
admiration  :  What  is  this  ?  A  new  teaching !  and  an 
unheard-of  kind  of  power !  That  of  the  Evangelists 
gives  us  some  insight  into  the  quality  of  the  preaching 
which  immediately  created  poj)ular  surprise.  Mark 
uses  the  method  of  comparison  :  He  taught  not  as  the 
scribes  —  they  hy  authority  citing  Rabbis  of  reputation 
in  support  of  their  dogmas  ;  He  with  authority,  citing 
nobody,  speaking  out  the  intuitions  of  the  soul,  and 
leaving  these  to  commend  themselves  to  the  minds  of 
ingenuous  hearers.  Luke  comes  nearest  to  the  heart  of 
the  matter  when  he  employs  the  expression  "words 
of  grace  "  to  characterise  the  utterance  of  Christ  in  the 
synagogue  of  Nazareth.  I  believe  we  shall  not  go  far 
wrong  if  we  take  that  phrase  as  applicable  not  merely 
to  that  particular  discourse,  but  to  the  synagogue  dis- 
courses generally,  and  view  it  as  referring  not  chiefly 

^  Mark  vi.  5. 

2  Euthymius  Zigabenus,  a  Greek  monk  of  the  tenth  century,  author 
of  a  fine  commentary  on  the  Gospels,  remarks  :  "  It  was  not  for  Jesus 
to  benefit  them  against  their  will "  (ovk  edei  Piaiccs  evepyeTeiv  aurovs). 


THE   SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY  69 

to  graceful  diction,  but  rather  to  gracious  thought,  — 
to  matter  rather  tlian  to  manner.  Gracious  thought 
concerning  the  loving-kindness  of  God,  sweetly  and 
winsomely  si^oken,  that  in  Nazareth  and  everywhere 
was  the  burden  of  Christ's  synagogue  sermons.  Not 
that  the  Preacher  is  a  man  of  one  idea.  He  has  many 
thoughts  about  the  Kingdom,  some  of  them  deep  and 
abtruse,  fit  only  for  the  disciplined  ear  of  the  few,  some 
of  them  severe  and  exacting,  some  of  them  stern  in 
their  bearing  on  the  teaching  and  practice  of  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees ;  all  of  which  He  utters  on  due  occasion. 
But  the  grace  of  God  is  His  favourite  theme.  The 
Gospel  of  Divine  love  runs  like  a  sweet  melody  through 
the  rich,  varied,  sublime  harmonies  of  His  religious 
teaching.  That  God  is  good,  that  He  is  a  Father,  that 
He  shows  His  good-will  to  all  in  manifold  ways  in  His 
ordinary  providence  ;  that  He  careth  for  the  weak,  the 
lowly,  and  even  the  low ;  that  in  Him  is  plenteous 
redemption,  even  for  those  whom  men  despair  of:  such 
were  the  things  He  delighted  to  say,  said  to  all  He  met, 
and  wished  to  say  once  at  least  in  the  hearing  of  all  to 
whom  he  could  gain  access.  Therefore,  while  there 
was  doubtless  endless  variety  in  the  colouring  and 
contents  of  His  synagogue  addresses,  there  would  be  a 
certain  pervading  similarity,  perhaps  some  ideas  delib- 
erately repeated  in  unvarying  forms  of  language  ;  for 
all  great  teachers  who  have  some  very  decided  message 
to  deliver  are  apt  to  repeat  themselves,  not  in  helpless- 
ness, but  because  they  cannot  satisfy  themselves  with- 
out saying,  and  saying  again  and  again. 

3.  The  text  of  the  address  in  the  synagogue  of  Naza- 


70  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

reth  beginning,  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  Me," 
happily  preserved  by  Luke,  supplied  the  best  possible 
key-note  for  such  gracious  discourse.  That  it  is  histor- 
ical I  doubt  not,  but  it  is  also  typical.  It  is  the  kind  of 
text  Jesus  would  choose  for  a  popular  sermon.  The 
Scripture  He  was  to  preach  from  might  not  always  be 
in  His  power.  He  might  oftenest  have  to  take  His 
theme  from  the  fixed  lesson  for  the  day  in  the  Law  or  in 
the  Prophets.  Nothing,  however,  could  come  wrong  to 
Him,  for  He  knew  His  Bible  intimately,  and  had  some 
deep  spiritual  thought  in  His  mind  associated  with 
every  important  passage,  which  He  could  utter  in  fit- 
ting language  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  Think,  for 
example,  what  He  brought  out  impromptu  from  the 
superficially  unpromising  words  :  "  I  am  the  God  of 
Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob."  ^  From  the  greater  number  of  Old  Testament 
texts,  whether  selected  by  Himself  or  given  to  His 
hand.  He  would  have  no  difficulty  in  eliciting  the  veri- 
table Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  under  one  or  another  of 
its  aspects  by  most  legitimate  exegesis.  For  no  one 
knows  till  he  has  examined  into  the  matter  how  much 
that  is  truly  evangelic  in  spirit  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures :  in  Genesis,  in  Deuteronomy,  in 
the  Psalter,  and  in  the  Prophets  ;  how  much  that  is  in 
full  sympathy  with  the  splendid  text  from  Isaiah  which 
formed  the  theme  of  the  Nazareth  discourse  concerning 
the  anointing  of  jNIessiah  to  preach  good  tidings  to  the 
meek  and  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted.  One  of  the 
causes  of  admiration  in  our  Lord's  synagogue  audiences 
^  Matt.  xxii.  .02  ;  Mark  xii.  27  ;  Luke  xx.  38. 


THE   SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY  71 

would  be  the  ease  and  naturalness  with  which  lie  drew 
from  familiar  words  precious  truths  which  they  had 
never  seen  there  before,  turning  what  had  appeared 
"flint  into  a  fountain  of  waters."  ^  And  when  the  word 
even  to  the  popular  view  was  manifestly  not  flint  but 
fountain,  another  cause  of  admiration  would  be  the 
happy  manner  in  which,  as  if  by  a  spell,  He  cleared 
the  fountain  of  polluting,  choking  matter,  so  that  its 
waters  appeared  ^^ellucid  as  crystal,  inviting  the  thirsty 
to  drink  from  a  pure  well  of  salvation.  "  Let  us  make 
man  in  our  image  "  ;  "I  have  surely  seen  the  affliction 
of  My  people  which  are  in  Egypt "  ;  "  The  earth  is  full 
of  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  "  ;  "  With  Him  is  plente- 
ous redemption  "  ;  "  Thou,  O  Lord,  art  our  Father  "  ; 
"  In  Thee  the  fatherless  findeth  mercy  "  ;  "  Is  Ephraim 
my  dear  son  ?  is  he  a  pleasant  child  ?  for  since  I  spake 
against  him  I  do  earnestly  remember  him  still  "  ;  "I 
will  put  My  law  in  their  inward  parts" — what  thrill- 
ing, gracious,  unforgettable  words  Jesus  could  speak 
on  such  texts,  making  the  hearts  of  His  hearers  burn  as 
He  talked  to  them  on  the  Sabbath  days  !  The  syna- 
gogue teaching  of  the  scribes  was  dry-as-dust  even 
when  they  stumbled  on  oracles  like  these,  but  that  was 
their  fault,  not  the  fault  of  the  sacred  words.  It  was 
their  unhappy  way  to  choke  all  the  wells  with  the  rub- 
bish of  Rabbinical  theology,  and  part  of  Christ's  mis- 
sion was  to  remove  the  rubbish,  and  restore  the  intuition 
of  the  perennial  sense  of  the  Holy  Writings. 

More  of  the  words  and  deeds  of  Jesus  than  we  know 
may  really  have  belonged  originally  to  the  synagogue 
1  Ps.  cxiv.  8. 


72  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

ministry,  though  the  connection  is  not  indicated  in  the 
evangelic  records.  Some  have  tried  to  construct  an  in- 
augural synagogue  discourse  out  of  materials  now  form- 
ing part  of  Matthew's  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  piecing 
together,  e.g.^  the  counsel  against  care,  the  lesson  on 
prayer,  the  warning  against  judging,  the  law  of  reci- 
procity, and  the  closing  parable  of  the  wise  and  foolish 
builders,  and  offering  the  composition  as  a  sample  of 
what  Jesus  was  likely  to  say  in  a  concio  ad  populum.^ 
This  is  purely  conjectural,  and  not  very  probable  con- 
jecture either ;  for  what  we  have  been  accustomed  to 
call  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  in  all  probability  rather 
a  summary  of  disciple-teaching  on  various  topics  carried 
on  perhaps  for  a  week,  during  a  season  of  retreat  on 
the  mountain  plateau  overlooking  the  Galilean  lake. 
We  have  something  more  to  support  the  supposition 
that  certain  parables  in  the  evangelic  collections,  and 
some  also  of  the  recorded  miracles  had  their  primary 
place  in  the  synagogue  ministry.  Luke  gives  the 
parables  of  the  Grain  of  Mustard  Seed  and  the  Leaven 
as  pendants  to  a  synagogue  incident,^  suggesting  the 
inference  that,  they  were  spoken  in  a  synagogue  dis- 
course. They  happily  illustrate  a  truth  not  too  recon- 
dite for  popular  apprehension  :  that  great  things  may 
grow  out  of  very  insignificant  beginnings  ;  and  by  their 
simplicity  and  brevity  are  well  fitted  for  preaching  to 
the  million.  The  same  remark  applies  to  another  pair 
of  parables,  the  Hidden  Treasure  and  the  Precious 
Pearl. 2     The  one  pair  would  aptly  clinch  the  moral  of 

1  So  Keim  in  his  well-known  work  on  the  Life  of  Jesus. 

2  Luke  xiii.  18-21.  s  ]\fatt.  xiii.  31-33. 


THE    SYNAGOGUE    MINISTRY  73 

an  address  whose  import  was:  despise  not  the  kingdom 
I  bring  nigh  to  you  because  it  seems  a  small,  humble 
thing  ;  the  other  with  equal  felicity  Avould  enforce  the 
lesson  :  count  the  kingdom  the  chief  good,  joyfully 
secure  it  at  all  costs.  That  Jesus  did  use  similitudes 
in  these  popular  addresses  may  be  taken  for  granted. 
"  Without  a  parable  spake  He  not  unto  them,"  observes 
Mark,  with  reference  to  our  Lord's  manner  of  speaking 
to  the  multitude.  1  How  could  He  fail  to  employ  that 
method  of  instruction,  having  personally  such  a  taste 
and  talent  for  it,  speaking  to  people  accustomed  to  it, 
and  knowing  full  well  the  power  of  the  parables  to 
entertain,  to  lodge  truth  permanently  in  the  mind,  and 
to  make  the  meaning  clear  ?  To  make  the  meaning 
clear,  I  say,  for  undoubtedly  that  was  the  real  aim  of 
the  parabolic  method,  not,  as  one  might  hastily  infer 
from  certain  words  reported  by  Mark  as  spoken  by 
Jesus  in  connection  with  the  Parable  of  the  Soiver,  to 
hide  truth  from  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and  tickle  their 
ears  with  words  to  which  they  attached  no  rational 
sense.^  Of  such  an  inhuman  purpose  Jesus  was 
(need  it  be  said  ?)  utterly  incapable. 

Two  miracles  certainly,  and  one  most  probably, 
belong  to  the  synagogue  ministry.  The  first  of  the 
three  is  the  cure  of  the  demoniac  in  the  synagogue  of 
Capernaum,  reported  by  Mark  and  Luke ;  ^  the  second 
is  the  cure  of  the  woman  who  had  a  spirit  of  infirmity 
eighteen  years,  reported  by  Luke  only,*  and  the  third 
is  the    cure   of   the   leper,   reported  by  all   the   three 

1  Mark  iv.  34.  2  ]\fark  iv.  12. 

3  Mark  i.  21-28;  Luke  iv.  31-37.  *  Luke  xiii.  10-13. 


74  WITH   OPEN    FACE 

Evangelists.^  Mark  brings  it  in  immediately  after 
his  general  statement  concerning  the  preaching  of 
Jesus  in  the  synagogues  of  Galilee,  and  the  inference 
is  natural  that  it  owes  its  place  to  its  being  regarded 
by  the  Evangelist  as  an  anecdote  of  that  ministry.  In 
point  of  varied  interest  the  last-mentioned  healing  act 
eclipses  the  other  two,  especially  as  reported  by  Mark, 
whose  version  of  the  leper-story  is  a  good  instance  of 
his  realism.  Common  to  all  the  three  narratives  is 
the  leper's  "  If  Thou  wilt,  Thou  canst,"  and  Christ's 
peremptory  injunction  to  the  healed  man,  "  Go,  show 
thyself  to  the  priest."  Both  features  are  interesting: 
the  former  as  showing  how  completely  even  at  this 
early  period  faith  in  Christ's  poiver  to  heal  any  form 
of  disease  had  taken  hold  of  the  popular  mind,  and 
how  the  more  difficult  faith  in  His  loving  will  lagged 
behind ;  the  latter  as  evincing  a  desire  on  Christ's  part 
at  once  to  make  the  benefit  complete  by  adding  to  the 
physical  cure  social  restoration,  and  to  act  in  a  respect- 
ful, conciliatory  spirit  towards  existing  institutions 
and  established  authority.  That  recognition  of  the 
priest's  place  and  function  gains  added  meaning  if,  as 
I  have  supposed,  Jesus  already  feared  the  interference 
of  the  scribes.  It  assumes  in  that  case  the  aspect  of  a 
policy  of  conciliation  adopted  in  the  interest  of  the  mis- 
sion, in  hope  to  make  a  favourable  impression  on  syna- 
gogue magnates  and  retain  their  good-will  as  long  as 
possible. 

To  these  common  elements  of  the  story  Mark  adds 
the  compassion  of  Jesus,  and  the  assumption  after  the 
1  Matt.  viii.  2-4 ;  Mark  i.  40-46  ;  Luke  v.  12-16. 


THE    SYNAGOGUE    MINISTRY  75 

cure  of  an  imperative,  threatening  manner  to  insure 
that  the  healed  man  shall  go  away  at  once  and  report 
himself  to  the  priest,  instead  of  remaining  content 
with  merely  being  whole.  The  addition  of  these  traits 
is  not  an  affair  of  mere  word-painting.  Both  are 
valuable  contributions  to  a  vivid  reproduction  of  the 
situation  as  observed  by  an  eye-witness.  Christ's  com- 
passion was  a  very  noticeable  feature  to  an  impression- 
able onlooker  like  Peter,  and  one  cannot  wonder  that 
he  laid  emphasis  on  it  in  reporting  the  incident.  The 
pity  of  Jesus  is  a  commonplace  to  us,  but  it  was  not 
such  to  the  Galilean  villagers.  It  takes  men  little 
accustomed  to  anything  in  the  world  but  callous  in- 
difference towards  other  people's  woes  some  time  to 
believe  in  exceptional,  unique,  phenomenal  love  like 
that  of  Jesus.  They  can  more  easily  believe  in  mirac- 
ulous power  than  in  miraculous  love.  They  are  able  to 
say  "  Thou  canst,"  before  they  are  able  to  say  "  Thou 
wilt."  Mark's  addition,  therefore,  only  shows  that  he 
understood  perfectly  the  situation,  or,  at  least,  that  he 
is  a  faithful  reporter  of  the  words  of  one  who  did. 
The  other  particular  peculiar  to  Mark  is  equally  de- 
serving of  appreciation.  It  reveals  another  phase  of 
Christ's  love,  in  which  it  puts  on  an  aspect  of  anger  in 
its  determination  that  the  healed  leper  shall  get  the 
whole  and  not  merely  the  half  of  the  possible  benefit. 
Jesus  frowns,  speaks  imperatively  and  impatiently,  and 
even  thrusts  the  man  out  as  it  were  by  the  shoulders, 
with  an  order  to  go  at  once.  How  life-like!  how 
beautiful  this  subtle  play  of  feeling,  this  sudden  transi- 
tion from  one  mood  of  love  to  another ;  from  pity  to 


76  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

impatience,  from   the    softly  spoken  "  I  will "  to  the 
masterful  "  thou  must "  ! 

What  now  was  the  result  of  this  ministry  whereof 
so  scanty  a  crop  of  incidents  has  been  preserved  to  us? 
It  may  be  stated  in  a  sentence :  great  temporary  popu- 
larity, little  permanent  fruit.  Of  the  popularity  we 
find  a  trace  even  in  the  descriptions  of  the  crowds  that 
afterwards  gathered  around  Jesus.  Matthew  follows 
up  his  general  account  of  the  synagogue  ministry  with 
a  brief  notice  of  the  rising  tide  of  enthusiasm  in  which 
Galilee  occupies  a  prominent  place.  "  There  followed 
Him  great  multitudes  of  people  from  Galilee^  and 
Decapolis,  and  Jerusalem,  and  Judica,  and  from  be- 
yond Jordan."  1  In  the  corresponding  statement  of 
Mark,  Galilee  is  even  more  pointedly  indicated  as  the 
main  contributor  to  the  vast  assembly.  The  second 
Evangelist  distinguishes  two  crowds,  a  very  large  one 
coming  from  Galilee,  and  a  considerable  but  by  no 
means  so  great  one  coming  from  various  other  parts. 
What  he  sa^'s  is  this  :  "  A  great  multitude  from  Gralilee 
followed ;  and  from  Judsea,  and  from  Jerusalem,  and 
from  Idumaea,  and  beyond  Jordan,  and  about  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  a  multitude  great''' ^  —  the  epithet  "great" 
following  the  noun  in  the  second  case,  as  if  to  say : 
"large  also,  but  not  so  large."  Galilee  sends  a  larger 
contingent  than  all  the  rest  of  the  country.  This  is 
what  the  synagogue  sermons  and  the  cures  have  come 
to.  The  Galileans  cannot  part  with  the  Preacher  and 
Healer.  They  are  as  unwilling  to  lose  Him  as  were 
the  people  of  Capernaum  when  He  suddenly  left  them 
i  Matt.  iv.  25.  2  jj^ark  iii.  7,  8. 


THE   SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY  77 

after  that  memorable  Sabbath  evening.  Therefore 
they  followed  Him  in  vast  numbers  from  the  various 
towns  He  had  visited,  crowding  around  Him,  jostling 
Him,  knocking  against  Him,  in  hope  even  in  that  rude 
way  to  obtain  a  cure  for  their  ailments,^  insomuch  that 
it  was  necessary  to  have  a  boat  in  readiness  wherewith 
to  escape  sea-wards  in  case  the  pressure  became  utterly 
unbearable.  2 

Altogether  a  phenomenal  popularity ;  yet,  Jesus 
Himself  being  witness,  the  abiding  spiritual  outcome 
seems  to  have  been  inconsiderable.  The  evidence  for 
this  is  two-fold  :  the  Parable  of  the  Soiver,^  and  the 
complaint  against  the  three  cities,  Chorazin,  Bethsaida, 
and  Capernaum.^  The  parable  is  in  reality  a  critical 
review  of  Christ's  past  Galilean  ministry.  Probably 
all  the  parables  spoken  from  the  boat  on  the  day  on 
which  the  Soiver  was  uttered  were  of  this  character, 
though  Matthew's  collection  contains  some  of  a  differ- 
ent type.  Jesus  was  in  the  mood  to  tell  the  people 
who  followed  Him  and  admired  Him  what  He  thought 
of  them,  and  what  value  He  set  on  their  discipleship. 
His  estimate  as  given  in  the  Sower  is  very  depressing. 
In  effect  it  amounts  to  this  :  much  seed  sown,  little 
fruit.  The  word  of  the  kingdom,  that  is  to  say, 
scattered  with  a  free  hand  in  the  synagogues  of  Galilee, 
and,  for  one  reason  or  another,  in  most  instances  no 
crop  visible  after  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  to  test  the 
movement  by  results.  The  parable  hints  at  some  of 
the  reasons  of  this  unfruitfulness  in  its  description  of 

1  Mark  iii.  10.  2  ^/^rl-  iii.  9. 

3  Matt.  xiii.  3  ;  Mark  iv.  3  ;  Luke  viii.  4.       *  Matt.  xi.  20  ;  Luke  x.  13. 


78  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

the  various  sorts  of  ground  on  which  the  seed  chanced 
to  fall.  The  beaten  footpath,  the  shallow  soil  —  a 
thin  layer  of  earth  on  a  bed  of  rock  —  and  the  land 
foul  with  seeds  or  roots  of  thorns,  represent  types  of 
men  with  whom  all  religious  teachers  are  familiar : 
the  thoughtless,  the  superficial,  and  the  men  who  are 
not  destitute  of  mental  power  or  spiritual  depth  but 
wdiose  great  lack  is  purity  and  singleness  of  heart. 
There  were  men  in  Galilee  answering  to  all  these 
types ;  some  with  whom  the  Preacher  had  not  a 
chance,  some  on  whom  He  soon  and  easily  made  an 
impression,  some  whose  capacity  and  seriousness  gave 
promise  of  something  more  than  temporary  interest, 
even  of  permanent  discipleship,  yet  destined  to  disap- 
point expectation  through  lack  of  moral  simplicity. 
The  fewest  were  those  whose  minds  resembled  a  soil 
at  once  soft,  deep,  and  clean  :  men  of  honest  and  good 
hearts,  sincerely  regarding  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  the 
chief  end,  and  seeking  it  with  generous  devotion.  It 
was  altogether  a  disenchanting,  bitter  experience.  It 
made  Jesus  feel,  like  the  prophet  Isaiah,  as  if  He  had 
been  sent  to  the  synagogues  of  Galilee  not  for  recovery 
of  sight  by  the  blind,  and  of  hearing  by  the  deaf,  but 
rather  to  make  blind  men  blinder,  and  deaf  men  deafer 
than  ever  —  as  if  this  were  the  chief  effect  of  His 
preaching  as  a  whole,  and  of  the  parabolic  pictures  in 
particular,  witli  which  His  addresses  were  enriched, 
and  Avhich  seemed  to  His  hearers  their  main  attraction. 
If  intention  were  to  be  judged  by  result,  one  might 
say  that  Jesus  had  gone  on  that  preaching  tour  for 
the   very  purpose  of   shutting   eyes   and  ears ;    but  of 


THE    SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY  79 

course  that  would  be  a  grievous,  fatal  misunderstand- 
ing of  His  spirit. 

The  disappointment  connected  with  the  synagogue 
ministry  led  to  a  change  in  the  plan  of  Jesus.  He  re- 
solved, henceforth,  to  devote  more  attention  to  the 
select  few  who  showed  intellectual  and  spiritual  capac- 
ity for  discipleship.  From  the  great  multitude  he 
chose  a  limited  number  of  susceptible  hearers,  and 
from  these  again  an  inner  circle  of  twelve.  In  this 
small  field  He  hoped  in  due  season  to  reap  a  rich  har- 
vest of  thirty,  sixty,  and  an  hundred  fold. 

The  complaint  against  the  Galilean  towns  is  inform- 
ing as  well  as  saddening.  It  gives  us  a  momentary 
glimpse  of  an  extensive  ministry  whereof  very  scanty 
memorials  have  been  preserved,  Chorazin,  one  of  the 
towns  named,  is  nowhere  mentioned  except  in  this  re- 
proachful word.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  situated 
on  the  highway  to  Tyre  from  Capernaum  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  upper  Jordan.  It  was,  doubtless,  one 
of  the  many  towns  Jesus  visited  in  connection  with  His 
synagogue  ministry,  where  He  had  not  only  preached 
but  wrought  some  remarkable  cures.  For  another 
thing  noticeable  in  this  complaint  is  that  the  emphasis 
of  its  lament  lies  not  on  fruitless  preaching,  but  rather 
on  fruitless  mighty  ivorks.  From  this  we  learn  that 
healing  acts,  often  remarkable,  like  the  cure  of  the 
leper,  were  a  common  if  not  constant  accompaniment 
of  the  preaching  ministry  in  Galilee.  We  are  not  to 
suppose,  however,  that  Jesus  Himself  laid  chief  stress 
on  them.  He  looks  at  the  matter  from  the  point  of 
view  of  His  Galilean  hearers.     He  is  aware  that  what 


80  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

they  most  admired  and  valued  was  the  cures  wrought 
on  the  sick,  and  what  He  says  of  them  and  to  them  is, 
in  effect,  this:  "Ye  heard  Me  in  your  synagogues,  and, 
what  is  more  important  in  your  eyes,  ye  saw  My  works 
with  astonishment  and  thankfulness  at  the  time.  And 
what  has  been  the  result  ?  No  change  in  spirit  or  in 
life:  ye  remain  as  ye  were,  as  thoughtless,  shallow,  and 
preoccupied  as  ever."     "  They  repented  not." 

No  change  noticeable  in  the  life  of  Chorazin,  Beth- 
saida,  and  Capernaum,  selected  to  represent  the  many 
Galilean  cities  visited  in  connection  with  the  syna- 
gogue ministry  —  such  is  the  melancholy  verdict  of  the 
Preacher.  The  reference  to  Tyre  and  Sidon  suggests 
that  these  three  towns  are  named  not  merely  because 
they  had  been  exceptionally  privileged,  but  because  of 
their  commercial  importance.  If  so,  then  we  get  this 
result,  that  the  commercial  section  of  Jewish  society 
was  as  inappreciative  in  its  attitude  towards  Jesus  as 
the  religious  section.  Differing  widely  on  the  surface, 
they  were  at  one  in  this,  that  neither  sought  the  King- 
dom of  God  and  the  righteousness  of  God  as  the  chief 
good  of  life. 

Truly  a  sad  account  of  a  people  with  such  a  spiritual 
history  behind  it.  How  depressing  to  think  that  One 
anointed  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  for  an  evangelis- 
tic mission  should  have  no  better  report  to  give  at  the 
close !  Alas !  it  is  more  or  less  the  report  and  the  bur- 
den of  all  high  ministries  in  this  world!  Yet  it  is  best 
not  to  say  too  much  about  it,  or  to  brood  over  it,  or  to 
allow  ourselves  to  be  driven  into  pessimism  by  it. 
Keep  cheerful  and  hopeful   always,  and  preach  a  real, 


THE    SYNAGOGUE   MINISTRY  81 

acceptable  gospel,  telling  men  not  merely  that  iniqui- 
ties prevail  against  them,  but  that  as  for  their  trans- 
gressions God  can  and  will  purge  them  away.  There 
is  quite  enough  pessimism  in  the  world  without  bring- 
ing it  into  the  pulpit.  Surely  it  is  out  of  place  there! 
And  what  good  can  it  do  ?  Men  are  saved  by  hope, 
not  by  despair;  and  if  the  preacher  would  make  others 
hope,  he  must  be  hopeful  himself.  In  spite  of  all  dis- 
appointment, go  on  speaking  sweetly  and  reasonably, 
now  and  then  embodying  truth  in  a  parable,  and  leave 
the  word  to  work  like  a  charm.  If  that  way  fails, 
nothing  else  will  succeed.  So  Jesus  continued  to  do 
His  work,  while  occasionally  making  His  complaint. 
He  was  no  pessimist.  He  was  simply,  as  has  been  re- 
marked, the  one  great  religious  Optimist  who  cannot 
be  accused  of  shallowness,  or  of  shutting  His  eyes  to 
the  evil  that  is  in  the  world. 

It  is  an  interesting  question  in  what  relation  the 
mission  of  the  twelve  disciples  stood  to  the  synagogue 
ministry  of  their  Master.  It  may  have  been  intended 
in  part  to  supplement  it  by  spreading  the  good  news  in 
Galilee  more  completely  than  Jesus  had  been  able  to 
do.  But  the  mission  of  the  disciples  was  not  to  preach 
in  the  synagogues :  for  that  they  were  not  yet  fit. 
Theirs  was  a  house  ministry,  not  a  synagogue  ministry. 
They  were  to  enter  into  the  houses  of  such  as  were  will- 
ing to  receive  them,  and  to  stay  there  as  long  as  they 
remained  in  any  particular  place,  talking  to  the  family 
and  to  such  neighbours  as  dropped  in  concerning  the 
Kingdom  and  its  King.  Of  the  Kingdom  they  could 
say  little  beyond   the   most   elementary   statement   of 


82  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

God's  good-will  to  the  penitent,  but  concerning  the 
King  they  would  have  more  to  tell.  Probably  the 
main  part  of  their  conversation  consisted  of  anecdotes 
about  their  Master,  recollections  of  what  He  had  said 
or  done  during  His  preaching  tour ;  now  a  parable, 
anon  a  healing  act  reported  for  the  entertainment  and 
benefit  of  their  hearers.  Such  communications  would 
in  most  cases  insure  for  them  a  welcome,  though  in  His 
instructions  to  the  apprentice  missioners  Jesus  contem- 
plated the  possibility  of  an  opposite  reception:  ''Who- 
soever shall  not  receive  you."^  The  words  may  ex- 
press a  fear  suggested  by  personal  experience  of  work 
frustrated  or  interrupted  by  religious  prejudice  in  His 
own  early  effort  to  evangelise  Galilee. 

1  Matt.  X.  14  ;  3fark  vi.  11. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   MISSION    TO    THE   PUBLICANS 

Of  this  part  of  our  Lord's  work,  not  less  than  of  the 
synagogue  ministry,  the  ordinary  reader  of  the  Gospels 
has  a  most  inadequate  idea.  It  amounts  to  this,  that 
Jesus  happened  on  one  occasion  to  be  present  as  a 
guest  at  a  social  entertainment  given  by  one  of  His 
disciples,  named  Matthew  or  Levi,  to  associates  of  the 
publican  class  to  which  he  had  himself  previously  be- 
longed, and  being  present,  ate  with  them  without  hesi- 
tation, and  doubtless  also  addressed  to  His  fellow- 
guests"  some  gracious  words,  indicating  that  the  door 
of  the  Kingdom  was  open  even  to  them.  Not  a  few 
careful  students  of  the  Evangelic  Records  have  been 
content  with  this  meagre  conception.  Yet  if  we  could 
only  shake  off  the  trammels  of  custom,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  take  a  fresh  view  of  the  matter,  a  little  reflection 
would  suffice  to  convince  us  that  what  has  just  been 
stated  cannot  be  the  whole  truth  or  even  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  it.  From  the  nature  of  the  case  Jesus 
cannot  have  been  merely  passive  in  the  matter,  in 
the  sense  in  which  persons  invited  to  an  ordinary  fes- 
tive gathering  are  passive,  each  one  going  because  lie 
has  received  an  invitation  from  the  host,  and  without 
knowing  whom  he  is  to  meet.  The  newly  called  dis- 
ss 


84  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

ciple  would  not  have  ventured  to  invite  liis  Master 
to  eat  with  publicans  without  first  ascertaining  that 
He  was  willing  to  meet  them.  Nay,  one  may  go 
further,  and  say  that  the  publican-disciple  would  never 
have  thought  of  or  hinted  at  such  a  meeting  unless 
he  had  been  given  to  understand  that  the  Master 
was  not  only  willing  but  desirous  to  have  social  in- 
tercourse with  the  outcast  classes  of  Capernaum. 
The  initiative  must  really  have  been  with  Jesus. 
The  whole  plan  must  have  been  His.  He  must  have 
had  in  His  mind  a  deliberate  intention  to  come  into 
close  fraternal  contact  with  the  "  publicans  and  sin- 
ners." Of  this  design  the  Evangelists  say  nothing  ; 
they  simply  report  very  briefly  the  main  events  :  Mat- 
thew's call  and  the  ensuing  feast.  But  once  we  have 
got  the  idea  of  such  a  design  into  our  minds,  we  rec- 
ognise in  these  two  events  simply  the  working  out  of 
the  plan  —  the  method  employed  by  Jesus  to  give 
effect  to  His  gracious  purpose.  First  He  calls  to  dis- 
cipleship  a  publican^  doubtless  with  a  view  to  ulterior 
service  as  an  apostle,  but  likewise  with  a  view  to  im- 
mediate service  as  an  intermediary  between  Himself 
and  the  publicans  of  Capernaum.  Then,  through  Mat- 
thew as  His  agent,  He  calls  together  the  class  to  which 
the  new  disciple  belonged,  that  He  may  eat  with  them 
and  speak  to  them  the  good  news  of  the  Kingdom. ^ 

That  Jesus  would   entertain  such  a  plan  was  to  be 
expected.     We  have  seen  how  much  in  earnest  He  was 
about  a  systematic  synagogue  ministry.     But  his  earn- 
estness was  not  one-sided.     He  desired  to  do  His  duty 
1  Matt.  ix.  9-13 ;  Mark  ii.  13-17  ;  Luke  v.  27-32. 


MISSION   TO   THE    PUBLICANS.  85 

as  the  Herald  of  the  Kingdom,  impartiall}^  to  all 
classes  of  Jewish  society.  In  this  connection  we  may 
distinguish  four  classes.  First,  the  religious  leaders  of 
Israel ;  secondly,  the  respectable  synagogue-frequent- 
ing body  of  the  people  ;  thirdly,  the  hidden  minority 
of  devout  men  and  women  who  had  spiritual  affinity 
for  the  New  Teaching ;  lastly,  the  social  pariahs. 
Now  that  Jesus  performed  the  function  called  for  in 
reference  to  the  first  three  of  these  four  classes,  is  suf- 
ficiently evident  from  the  Gospels.  He  criticised  faith- 
fully and  thoroughly  scribes  and  Pharisees,  that  being 
what  they  needed.  He  went  the  round  of  the  syna- 
gogues of  Galilee  and  preached  in  them  in  turn,  at 
least  in  as  many  of  them  as  possible.  He  was  con- 
stantly on  the  outlook  for  persons  of  special  spiritual 
susceptibility  and  promise,  and  gradually  formed  them 
into  a  disciple-circle  for  the  purpose  of  careful  instruc- 
tion. In  view  of  these  familiar  facts,  who  can  doubt 
that  He  did  not  neglect  the  lowest  pariah  class,  that 
He  was  equally  conscientious  and  thorough  in  regard 
to  them,  that  He  cared  for  their  spiritual  interest  in 
no  casual,  haphazard,  or  half-hearted  way,  but  system- 
atically, persistently,  and  very  cordially  ?  Neglect  the 
publicans  !  One  would  say  that,  whatever  class  was 
to  be  overlooked,  it  would  not  be  they.  Neglect  the 
"sinners,"  neglect  the  neglected  and  despised!  Im- 
possible for  such  a  one  as   Jesus. 

It  might  be  supposed,  however,  that  there  was  no 
need  for  a  special  mission  to  the  "publicans  and  sin- 
ners," that  their  interests  would  be  sufficiently  pro- 
vided for,  e.g.,  by  the   synagogue  ministry.     But  the 


86  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

fact  was  not  so.  The  publicans  were  practically,  if 
not  formally,  excommunicated.  They  were  as  heathens 
in  the  esteem  of  religious  Jews.  A  learned  writer 
on  this  subject  states  that  publicans  were  not  reck- 
oned in  religious  society,  quoting  from  the  Talmud 
Avords  to  this  effect  :  a  religious  person  who  becomes 
a  publican  must  be  driven  out  of  religious  company.^ 
"  No  money  known  to  come  from  them  was  received 
into  the  alms-box  of  the  synagogue  or  the  corban  of 
the  Temple."^  Such  being  the  state  of  feeling,  it  is 
evident  that  few  if  any  publicans  would  have  an  op- 
portunity of  hearing  any  of  Christ's  synagogue  dis- 
courses. They  would  probably  not  have  been  admitted 
even  if  the}"  had  sought  entrance,  and  they  were  not 
likely  to  do  that,  for  men  all  the  world  over  avoid 
places  of  worship  where  they  know  they  are  not  wel- 
come. There  was  just  one  chance  for  the  publicans. 
They  might  join  the  crowds  that  gathered  about  Jesus 
wherever  He  went,  and  get  the  benefit  of  His  open-air 
preaching.  That  they  seem  to  have  done  to  some  ex- 
tent, for  in  his  report  of  Levi's  feast  Mark  states  that 
they  (the  publicans)  were  many,  and  that  they  fol- 
lowed Jesus. ^  That  was  so  far  well.  It  might  content 
the  publicans,  but  it  would  not  content  the  sinners' 
Friend.  He  would  desire  closer  contact  and  more 
direct  intercourse.  In  the  interest  they  were  showing 
He  saw  His  opportunity,  and  Matthew's  call  and  the 
feast  following  were  the  result. 

1  Otho,  Lexicon  Rabbinico-philnlogicum,  p.  556. 

2  Article  "  Publican,"  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 

3  Mark  ii.  15. 


MISSION    TO    THE    PUBLICANS  87 

In  the  development  of  His  plans  our  Lord  followed 
the  leadmgs  of  Providence.  He  began  with  a  syna- 
gogue ministry,  because,  as  that  depended  on  the  good- 
will of  others,  it  was  important  that  it  should  be 
started  at  once  and  pushed  on  vigorously  before  the 
suspicions  of  the  scribes  were  aroused.  The  mission 
to  the  publicans  was  undertaken  after  the  return  to 
Capernaum  from  the  preaching  tour  in  the  synagogues 
of  Galilee.  It  was  the  natural  second  step.  They 
were  a  class  whom  the  synagogue  ministry,  for  reasons 
already  indicated,  had  not  reached,  and  their  presence 
in  the  crowds  that  followed  Jesus  along  the  lake-shore 
showed  that  they  were  not  beyond  reach.  An  evan- 
gelising experiment  among  them  was  worth  trying. 
So  Matthew  was  called,  and  through  him  the  festive 
gathering  convened.  The  call  of  a  publican  to  disci- 
pleship  would  immediately  create  expectation.  It 
would  at  once  be  felt  that  He  who  took  that  bold 
step  meant  to  do  more,  and  that  an  event  was  impend- 
ing that  would  create  a  sensation. 

It  was  a  great  event.  That  is  plainly  indicated  by 
all  the  three  Evangelists  ;  but  readers  of  the  narra- 
tives, pre-occupied  with  the  notion  of  a  private  din- 
ner party,  readily  fail  to  notice  the  fact.  In  each  of 
the  reports  it  is  distinctly  stated  that  "many"  were 
present.  That  itself  ought  to  open  our  eyes  to  the 
significance  of  the  occasion,  and  make  us  think  of 
a  congregation  embracing  hundreds,  rather  than  of 
a  private  entertainment  to  say  a  score  of  guests  ; 
meeting  not  in  the  dining  chamber  of  a  house,  but 
in    the    large    open    court    around    which   the  apart- 


88  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

ments  of    an    Eastern    house    of   the   better    class   are 
built.  1 

Of  course  it  was  not  a  merely  festive  gathering.  To 
eat  and  drink  was  not  the  sole  or  even  the  chief  end  of 
the  meeting.  Jesus  from  the  first  meant  to  speak  to 
that  remarkable  assembly  of  social  pariahs  and  moral 
nondescripts.  The  eating  was  svibservient  to  that  as 
the  ultimate  aim,  a  means  of  establishing  cordial  re- 
lations between  Speaker  and  hearers,  and  opening  a 
way  for  His  message  into  their  hearts.  But  in  that 
respect  it  was  all-important ;  hence  the  prominence 
given  to  it  in  the  narratives.  The  Evangelists  say 
nothing  about  the  speaking  ;  that  they  take  for 
granted.  They  assume  it  will  be  understood  by  all 
their  readers  that  Jesus  would  not  meet  with  such  a 
large  company,  and  especially  with  a  company  of  so 
peculiar  a  quality,  without  having  something  memora- 
ble and  uniquely  impressive  to  say  to  them  concerning 
the  Kingdom.  As  a  matter  of  course  He  would  tell 
them  the  good  news  of  God.  As  a  matter  of  course 
accordingly  it  is  treated,  a  thing  not  needing  to  be 
mentioned.  But  of  the  eating  careful  note  is  taken, 
and  for  an  obvious  reason.  It  was  the  speciality,  the 
thing  that  would  create  surprise  on  all  sides  —  in 
fellow-guests  and  in  outsiders ;  the  thing  that  was 
sure  to  be  extensively  talked  about  and  that  would 
inevitably  make  a  powerful  impression  of  one  sort 
or   another,  winning   publicans,  shocking   scribes  and 

1  Furrer,  author  of  a  delightful  book  on  Palestine  (  Wandemngen 
durch  das  heilige  Land)  assumes  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the  meet- 
ing took  place  there. 


MISSION   TO   THE   PUBLICANS  89 

Pharisees.  In  giving  such  prominence  to  the  social 
aspect  of  the  function  the  Evangelists  only  show 
their  full  comprehension  and  appreciation  of  the 
situation. 

The  thing  of  importance  to  note,  however,  is  that 
Jesus  understood  the  situation.  He  knew  perfectly 
what  He  was  doing.  He  knew  that  His  line  of  action 
would  create  scandal  and  in  all  likelihood  provoke 
malevolent  misconstruction.  But  He  felt  that  He 
must  take  the  risk.  He  knew  that  no  half-measures 
would  do  with  the  people  He  was  trying  to  benefit. 
He  must  either  be  their  friend,  their  comrade,  out 
and  out,  or  let  them  alone.  If  He  could  not,  or 
would  not,  eat  with  them,  out  of  a  regard  to  social 
proprieties,  the  instinctive  swift  inference  of  the 
classes  concerned  would  be  :  "  He  too  is  at  heart  a 
Pharisee.  He  cares  a  little  for  us,  mildly  pities  us, 
would  like  to  talk  to  us  about  religion ;  but  He 
dare  not  sit  down  at  the  same  table  with  us ;  He 
fears  the  censure  of  the  virtuous,  the  tongue  of  the 
pious,  the  frown  of  those  that  pass  for  good."  All 
this  Jesus  clearly  perceived  ;  therefore  He  pursued 
the  policy  of  radical,  fearless,  thorough-going,  com- 
radeship. But  He  did  not  so  act  from  policy.  He 
acted  spontaneously,  without  calculation,  and  with- 
out effort,  at  the  bidding  of  a  loving  heart.  Phe- 
nomenal miraculous  love  was  at  the  bottom  of  the 
whole  proceeding.  Mere  wisdom  would  not  have  been 
equal  to  the  emergency.  Nothing  but  love  unex- 
ampled in  Capernaum  or  anywhere  else  could  have 
had  the  originality  to  conceive  the  plan,  the  courage 


90  WITH   OPEN    FACE 

to  adopt  it,  and  the  tact  to  carry  it  through.  What 
cares  such  love  for  conventional  proprieties  or  evil 
tongues  ?  It  leaps  the  fence,  however  high ;  it  over- 
flows the  most  carefully  constructed  embankments  of 
social  custom ;  it  will  have  its  way,  and  it  is  prepared 
to  take  the  consequences. 

Sure  enough  there  were  consequences  to  be  reckoned 
with.  That  also  the  Evangelists  are  careful  to  record. 
He  is  a  very  simple  man  who  fancies  that  he  can  in- 
dulge in  the  moral  originality  of  Jesus,  taking  counsel 
only  with  love,  and  escaj^e  unpleasant  consequences. 
All  things  new  and  original,  in  thought,  and  still 
more  in  action,  are  inevitably  blamed.  The  best 
things,  before  men  get  accustomed  to  them,  are  treated 
as  if  they  were  the  worst.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  the 
conduct  of  Jesus  provoked  the  question,  "  Why  eateth 
your  Master  with  the  publicans  and  sinners?"  Nor 
was  that  the  end  or  the  worst  of  the  matter.  It 
came  at  last  to  hideous,  horrible  calumny.  They  said 
in  effect :  He  associates  with  the  reprobates  because 
He  is  a  reprobate  —  a  drunkard,  a  glutton,  and  what 
not.i 

So  deplorable  a  result  almost  tempts  the  question  : 
Was  that  well-meant  movement  not  after  all  a  mis- 
take ?  Has  a  man  any  right  to  throw  away  his  good 
name  in  trying  to  do  good  to  others?  This  is  a 
question  of  casuistry  that  is  not  likely  often  to  arise, 
for  few  have  love  enough  to  expose  them  to  any  dan- 
ger. If  any  one  feels  inclined  to  raise  the  question 
in  connection  with  our  Lord's  action  in  reference  to 
1  Matt.  xi.  19. 


MISSION    TO    THE    PUBLICANS  91 

the  publicans,  it  will  be  well  that  he  first  of  all  make 
an  effort  to  understand  the  alternatives.  There  were, 
as  has  been  already  hinted,  only  two  courses  open : 
either  to  go  the  full  length  in  comradeship  or  to  let 
the  publicans  and  sinners  alone.  A  middle  course  in 
the  circumstances  was  not  possible.  Therefore,  taking 
care  of  His  good  name  would  have  simply  meant  for 
Jesus  treating  the  outcasts  with  the  usual  indifference. 
Now  once  for  all  that  was  simply  impossible  for  Him. 
The  one  thing  He  could  not  do  was  to  let  people  alone 
in  their  sin  and  misery.  Surely  a  noble,  honourable, 
blessed  inability !  And  observe  what  the  let-alone 
policy  would  have  involved.  It  could  not  be  limited 
to  the  case  of  the  publicans ;  it  must  be  carried 
through.  If  Jesus  must  neglect  them  to  save  His 
good  name,  how  much  more  He  would  have  to 
neglect !  He  would  have  to  shun  the  cross  to  escape 
the  shame.  And  what  would  that  have  come  to? 
Saving  Himself  and  failing  to  save  others.  Nay,  fail- 
ing ultimately  even  to  save  Himself.  If  Jesus  Christ 
had  made  it  His  chief  business  to  adapt  His  conduct 
to  local  and  contemporary  ideas,  instead  of  being  the 
Saviour  of  the  world  He  would  have  been  a  Nobody. 
That  is  the  penalty  men  pay  who  are  too  desirous  to 
please  their  own  time.  In  their  anxiety  to  conciliate 
the  prejudices  of  to-day  they  do  nothing  for  the 
future,  and  are  soon  forgotten. 

In  the  Capernaum  movement  in  behalf  of  the  publi- 
cans Jesus  emphatically  worked  for  the  future.  No 
part  of  His  public  ministry  possesses  a  deeper  or 
more    abiding   significance.      As   a   revelation   of    His 


92  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

spirit  and  a  promise  of  great  things  to  come,  it 
stands  on  a  much  higher  level  than  the  synagogue 
ministry.  That  was  a  good  work  which  had  to  be 
done  sometime,  and  which  was  most  fitly  done  at  the 
commencement.  But  in  it  the  activity  of  our  Lord 
ran  in  the  channel  of  a  purely  Jewish  institution. 
The  new  wine  was  put  into  an  old  vessel.  In  that 
preaching  tour  among  the  synagogues  of  Galilee 
Jesus  was  simply  a  Minister  of  God  to  Israel.  But 
in  the  mission  to  the  publicans  it  was  otherwise. 
The  new  wine  was  put  into  a  new  vessel.  The  new 
spirit  found  for  itself  at  once  a  new  sphere  and  a 
new  method  of  working.  Jesus  then  began  to  be  a 
Servant  of  the  Kingdom  for  the  world.  To  the  Jew 
a  publican  was  as  a  heathen  man.  He  is  entitled  to 
the  honour  as  well  as  the  dishonour  of  that  identifi- 
cation, and  to  be  regarded  as  the  representative  of 
the  Gentiles  as  a  recipient  of  the  good  news.  The 
Capernaum  movement  was  the  forerunner  of  Gentile 
Christianity.  A  man  of  prophetic  vision  watching 
its  progress  might  have  said:  "Then  hath  God  also 
to  the  Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life." 

There  was  more  than  universalism  latent  in  that 
mission.  It  was  the  cradle  of  Christian  civilisation, 
which  has  for  its  goal  a  humanised  society  from  whose 
rights  and  privileges  no  class  shall  be  hopelessly  and 
finally  excluded.  It  was  a  protest  in  the  name  of 
God,  who  made  of  one  blood  all  the  nations  and 
classes,  against  all  artificial  or  superficial  cleavages 
of  race,  colour,  descent,  occupation,  or  even  of  char- 
acter, as    of    small    account    in    comparison    with    that 


MISSION    TO   THE   PUBLICANS.  93 

wliicli  is  common  to  all  —  the  human  soul,  with  its 
grand,  solemn  possibilities.  It  was  an  appeal  to  the 
conscience  of  the  world  to  put  an  end  to  barbarous 
alienations  and  heartless  neglects,  and  social  ostra- 
cisms, cruelties,  and  t}- rannies ;  so  making  way  for  a 
brotherhood  in  which  "  sinners,"  "  publicans,"  and 
"  Pharisees "  should  recognise  one  another  as  fellow- 
men  and  as  sons  of  the  one  Father  in  heaven. 

But  it  may  be  asked  :  If  that  movement  was  so  im- 
portant, why  did  the  Evangelists  give  so  inadequate 
an  account  of  it  ?  why,  above  all,  did  they  not  report 
what  Jesus  said  on  the  occasion,  which  must  have  been 
extremely  well  worth  recording,  both  in  substance  and 
in  form?  I  will  deal  with  this  complaint  before  I  am 
done,  but  meantime  I  remark  that  such  as  lament  the 
lack  ought  at  least  to  make  the  most  of  what  the  Evan- 
gelists have  actually  given  us.  They  report  one  word 
Christ  uttered  on  this  occasion  on  no  account  to  be 
overlooked  ;  not  spoken  indeed  to  the  publicans,  but 
to  men  who  blamed  Him  for  associating  with  them. 
It  is :  "  They  that  be  whole  need  not  a  phj'sician,  but 
they  that  are  sick :  I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous, 
but  sinners."  The  saying  consists  of  two  parts,  each 
of  which  serves  a  distinct  purpose.  The  first  part  rec- 
ognises the  claims  of  the  weak  on  the  strong ;  the  sec- 
ond proclaims  a  policy  pursued  in  the  interest  of  the 
Divine  Kingdom.  "  Sinners,"  therefore,  to  be  shunned 
you  think?  Nay,  that  is  just  the  reason  why  they 
should  be  sought  after,  even  as  it  is  the  sick  whom  the 
physician  visits.  Sinners,  therefore,  not  worth  caring 
about  ?     Nay,  to  care  for  them  is  not  only  a  duty  im- 


94  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

posed  by  love,  but  a  policy  dictated  by  wisdom.  Of 
just  such  as  these  recovered  from  the  error  of  their 
ways  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  whose  best  citizens 
are  drawn  not  from  those  who  pride  themselves  on 
their  virtue,  but  from  those  who  repent  of  their  folly. 
A  commonplace  now,  thanks  to  the  teaching  and  ex- 
ample of  Christ,  but  a  startling  doctrine  in  an  age 
when  it  was  thought  that  the  one  thing  a  man  had  to 
do  was  to  be  good  himself  without  trying  to  make 
others  good,  and  when  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  a 
man  with  a  mission,  the  founder  of  a  new  religion,  the 
originator  of  a  new  society,  would  gather  about  him 
the  best  people  he  could  find,  and  form  them  into  a 
select,  exclusive  circle  of  superior  persons.  The  world 
has  cause  to  thank  Jesus  Christ  that  He  came  to  at- 
tempt a  more  heroic  task,  to  gather  around  Him  the 
erring,  the  ignorant,  the  weak,  that  He  might  make 
them  temperate,  pure,  thoughtful,  strong.  By  under- 
taking this  high  mission  He  inaugurated  a  new  era  — 
the  era  of  grace. 

Returning  now  to  the  unrecorded  address,  two  ques- 
tions may  be  asked  regarding  it :  Have  we  no  clue  to 
its  drift?  Is  it  quite  certain  that  its  most  essential 
part  has  not  been  preserved? 

1.  The  action  of  Jesus  speaks.  It  speaks  to  us  ;  it 
would  speak  even  more  impressively  to  the  publicans 
and  sinners.  His  presence  there  as  a  fellow-guest  on 
equal  terms,  not  as  a  patron  but  as  a  comrade,  told  its 
own  story.  All  understood  instinctively  that  relig- 
ion, God,  man,  must  be  something  quite  different  for 
this  new  Teacher  from  what  they  were  for  Pharisees 


MISSION   TO    THE   PUBLICANS  95 

and  scribes.  "  He  does  not  liate  us  ;  He  does  not  de- 
spise us.  Holiness  for  Him  does  not  mean  keeping 
virtuously  aloof  from  the  unholy.  Bad  as  we  are,  He 
seems  to  find  in  us  some  common  element  that  He  can 
love,  some  touch  of  nature  that  makes  us  kin,  far  apart 
though  we  be  in  our  ways.  In  spite  of  our  unpopular 
occupations  and  evil  deeds,  we  are  still  at  least  men 
and  women  to  Him,  and  apparently  not  without  possi- 
bilities of  becoming  good  men  and  good  women.  What 
kind  of  a  God  can  He  believe  in  ?  Surely  not  the  God 
of  the  scribes  I  The  God  of  the  scribes,  like  the  scribes 
themselves,  looks  askance  on  the  like  of  us.  The  God 
of  this  Teacher  must  be  a  kindly  Being  like  Himself, 
—  One  who  would  not  be  ashamed  to  be  called  even 
our  God,  and  who  would  own  us  as  His  children,  though 
men  have  cast  us  off."  Such  were  the  thoughts  which 
in  the  form  of  dim  feeling,  if  not  in  distinctly  formu- 
lated conception,  passed  through  the  minds  of  that 
motley  audience  even  before  Jesus  began  to  speak, 
suggested  by  the  mere  fact  of  His  being  there.  By 
eating  with  them  He  silently  preached  a  veritable 
Gospel  in  a  symbolic  sacramental  act. 

And  when  Jesus  began  to  speak,  what  else  could 
He  do  than  express  in  word  what  He  had  already  ex- 
pressed in  deed  ?  His  line  of  thought  was  dictated  by 
the  impression  which,  as  He  well  understood,  His  pres- 
ence was  making  upon  His  audience.  He  could  only 
put  into  words  what  was  in  the  mind  of  all.  One 
needs  only  to  realise  the  situation  to  be  able  to  recon- 
struct the  address,  at  least  in  outline.  It  would  state 
in  simple  language  the  truth  about  God  and  His  bear- 


96  "WITH   OPEN   FACE 

ing  towards  erring  men.  It  would  hold  out  hope  of 
a  better  future  for  the  worst,  declaring  that  past  sin 
was  no  inevitable  doom,  and  that  by  repentance  every 
man  might  pass  from  depravity  and  misery  into  purity 
and  blessedness.  It  would  strive  to  cure  the  doubt 
latent  in  every  heart  in  that  assembly  as  to  the  possi- 
bility of  either  God  or  man  really  caring  for  the  like 
of  them,  a  doubt  too  well  justified  by  the  contemptu- 
ous indifference  with  which  they  were  treated  on  every 
hand.  "  He  seems  to  care  for  us,  else  why  is  He  here  ? 
But  how  can  it  be?  What  should  make  Him  in  this 
so  utterly  unlike  all  other  men  we  have  known  ?  And 
as  for  God,  is  it  credible  He  can  be  like  this  Alan, 
and  so  utterly  unlike  all  we  have  been  taught  to  be- 
lieve by  our  religious  instructors?"  Such  was  the 
state  of  mind  with  which  the  Speaker  had  to  reckon ; 
and  if  He  dealt  with  it  after  His  wonted  manner,  He 
would  use  some  happy  parable  to  make  the  difficult  in 
the  spiritual  sphere  clear  by  a  familiar  story  taken 
from  natural  life. 

2.  This  brings  me  to  my  second  question.  Is  it 
quite  certain  that  the  essential  part  of  the  address  of 
Jesus  to  the  publicans  has  not  been  preserved?  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  highly  probable  that  we  ought  to  dis- 
cover the  kernel  of  the  address  in  the  parables  concern- 
ing finding  things  lost  contained  in  the  fifteenth  chapter 
of  Luke's  Gospel.  They  suit  exactly  the  requirements 
of  the  case  as  above  indicated.  And  from  Luke's  in- 
troductory statement  we  learn  that  the  parables  grew 
out  of  a  gathering  of  "  publicans  and  sinners  "  to  hear 
Jesus,  at  which  He  not  only  spoke  to  them,  but  ate 


MISSION    TO   THE   PUBLICANS  97 

with  them.      This  at   once   suggests   the    Capernaum 
assembly    as    the    real    historical    occasion.     True,    in 
Luke's  account  the  parables  are  represented  as  spoken 
not  to  the  publicans,  but  to  the  Pharisaic  fault-finders. 
But  this  fact  creates  no  serious   difficulty.     In  them- 
selves the  three  parables,  in  tlieir  essential  parts,  miglit 
have  been  spoken  to  any  audience,  to  a  congregation  in 
a   synagogue,  to   a  meeting  of  social  pariahs,  to  dis- 
ciples,  to    Pharisees.      They   would    simply   require    a 
little  modification   to  fit   them  to  the  particular  audi- 
ence.     Quite    possibly    they    were    uttered    again    and 
again  to  all  sorts  of  audiences.     Matthew  gives  the 
first  of  the  three,  the  Lost  Sheep,  as  a  word  spoken 
to  the  Twelve  in  the  Capernaum  lesson  on  humility. ^ 
This  is  perfectly  credible.     And  it  is  still  more  cred- 
ible that  not  only  the  first,  but  the  whole  three,  were 
spoken  to  the  publicans.     No  more  appropriate  audi- 
ence could  be  imagined,  and  no  one  knew  that  better 
than  Jesus.     It  may  be  matter  of  regret  that  these 
parables  have  not  come  down  to  us  in  the  form  of  a 
sermon  to  a  publican  audience.     But  that  the  tradition 
is  at  fault  here  is  not  surprising.     The  primitive  Chris- 
tian  society  cared  much  more  for  the  words  of  the 
Master  than  for  the  exact  historical  occasions.     There- 
fore we  need  not  wonder  if,  in  the  book  of  the  Oracles 
of  the  Lord  compiled,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
Papias,  by  Matthew,  these  golden  words  were  faith- 
fully preserved  without  clear  indication  of  their  his- 
torical connection.     And  we  have  the  remedy  in  our 
own  hands.     We   are   not   bound   by  the    connection 
1  Matt,  xviii.  12. 

H 


98  WITH   OPElSr   FACE 

assigned  to  them  by  Luke  or  by  the  author  of  the  First 
Gospel.  We  can  give  them  the  setting  that  is  most 
fitting,  and  that  brings  out  their  full  pathos,  and  claim 
them  for  the  festive  gathering  in  the  court  of  the 
house  of  Levi,  as  the  core  of  the  address  spoken  b}^ 
Jesus  that  day.  It  is  no  sin  against  true  reverence  to 
reproduce  them  here  adapted  to  the  circumstances  by 
needful  modification  and  brief  preface. 

Jesus,  then,  may  have  spoken  after  this  manner : 
"Men  and  women,  I  love  you.    I  am  your  Brother. 
God,  my  Father  and  your  Father,  loves  you,  and 
will  welcome   you    returning   to    Him  in  peni- 
tence.    You  doubt  this,  cannot  think  it  possible. 
I   wonder    not,    knowing   how   you   have   been 
spurned  by   your  fellow-townsmen.     Yet  it   is 
simple  when  you  think  of  it.     Your  Father  in 
heaven,  and  I  your  Brother  on  earth,  only  share 
the    joy   common   to   all   who    find    things    lost. 
Hear  a  parable  : 
" '  A  certain  man  had  a  hundred  sheep,  and 
having  lost   one   of  them,  left    the   ninety 
and  nine  in  the  wilderness  and  went  after 
that  which  was  lost  until  he  found  it.     And 
when  he  found  it  he  laid  it  on  his  shoulders 
with  joy.     And  wlien   he    came  home,  he 
told  his  neighbours,  and  they  were  all  glad 
that  he  had  found  the  lost  sheep.' 
"Does  the  joy  of  the  shepherd  and  his  neighbours 
seem  strange  to  you  ?     Such  joy  would  I,  would 
my  Father  in  heaven,  have  in  any  of  you  turn- 
ing from  evil  to  good. 


MISSION    TO    THE    PUBLK'ANS  99 

"  Not  only  the  owner  of  a  flock  of  sheep,  but  the 
poorest  among  you  may  know  the  joy  of  finding 
things  lost.      Hear  another  parable  : 
" '  A  certain  woman  had  ten  pieces  of  silver, 
and  lost  one  of  them.     She  lighted  a  lamp, 
swept  the  house,  and  sought  till  she  found 
it.      In  her  joy  she  told  her  neighbours,  and 
they  all  rejoiced  with  her.' 
"Think  not  there  may  be  joy  in  the  finding  of 
a  sheep  or  a  coin,  but  no  joy  in  finding  a  lost 
man.       There    may    be    more    joy    over    a    man 
found  than  over  the  finding  of  any  lost  thing. 
Hear  yet  another  parable : 
" '  A    certain    man    had    two    sons,    and    the 
younger  of  them  said  to  his  father,  Father, 
give   me   the    portion   that  falleth    to    me. 
And  he  divided  unto  them  his  living.     And 
not  many  days  after  the  younger  son  gath- 
ered all  together,  and  took  his  journey  into 
a  far  country,  and  there  he  wasted  his  sub- 
stance with  riotous  living.     And  Avhen  he 
had  spent  all,  there  arose  a  mighty  famine 
in   that    country,   and    he  began   to    be    in 
want.     And   he   went   and   joined   himself 
to  one  of  the  citizens  of  that  country;   and 
he  sent  him  into  his  fields  to  feed  swine. 
And  he  longed  to  eat  of  the  pods  which 
were  the    swine's  food,  and  no  man  gave 
unto  him.     But  when  he  came  to  himself, 
he  said :  How  many  hired  servants  of  my 
father  have  bread  beyond  their  need,  and 


100  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

I  perish  here  with  hunger.  I  will  arise, 
and  go  to  my  father,  and  will  say  unto  him. 
Father,  1  have  sinned  against  heaven,  and 
in  thy  sight.  I  am  no  more  worthy  to  be 
called  thy  son ;  make  me  as  one  of  thy 
hired  servants.  And  he  arose,  and  came 
to  his  father.  And  when  he  was  still  at  a 
great  distance  from  home  his  father  saw 
him,  and  was  touched  with  pity,  and  run- 
ning towards  him,  he  fell  on  his  neck  and 
fervently  kissed  him.  And  the  son  said  : 
Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and 
before  thee  ;  I  am  no  more  worthy  to  be 
called  thy  son.  But  the  father  said  to  the 
servants.  Bring  forth  quickly  the  best  robe, 
and  put  it  on  him,  and  put  a  ring  on  his 
hand,  and  shoes  on  his  feet,  as  becometh 
a  son,  and  bring  the  fatted  calf  and  kill  it, 
and  let  us  eat  and  make  merry.  For  this 
my  son  was  dead  and  is  alive  again  ;  he  was 
lost  and  is  found.  '  "  ^ 
When  we  think  of  this  parable  as  spoken  to  the 
publicans  in  the  house  of  Levi,  we  perceive  that  the 
festivities  of  that  day  explain  the  jiarable,  and  that 
the  parable  explains  the  festivities. 

What  success  Jesus  had  among  the  publicans  we 
do  not  know,  though  I  think  that  the  story  of  the 
woman  in  Simon's   house  ^  may  be  taken  as  an  illus- 

1  The  second  part  of  the  parable  concerning  the  elder  brother 
relates  to  the  Pharisees. 
-  Luke  vii.  36-50. 


MISSION   TO   THE   PUBLICANS  101 

trative  example  of  the  effect  produced.  She  may 
have  been  there ;  let  us  suppose  she  was.  That  day 
she  saw  Jesus  and  heard  Him  speak.  She  went  home 
and  thought  of  what  He  had  said.  And  this  was 
the  result ;  repentance,  a  gush  of  grateful  emotion, 
permanent  change  of  life. 

The  method  of  Jesus  deserved  success.  Nothing 
but  His  deep,  unfeigned  love,  going  the  whole  way, 
will  win  men.  Patronising  philanthropy  will  not  do. 
Those  who  practise  it  have  nothing  in  common  with 
Jesus.  "  He  was  no  patron ;  He  never  acted  in  a 
condescending  manner.  He  was  the  friend  in  the 
most  genuine  sense,  even  of  publicans  and  harlots. 
His  Kingdom  cannot  make  progress  through  patron- 
age,  however  kindly  intentioned."  ^ 

1  The  Spirit  in  Literature  and  in  Life,  by  Dr.  Coyle.  Houghton, 
Mifflin  and  Company  :  Tlie  Rand  Lectures  in  lowa^  1894.  A  thought- 
ful, suggestive  book. 


CHAPTER   VI 

JESUS   LONGING   FOE    APT   DISCIPLES 

It  has  been  customary  to  call  the  remarkable  utter- 
ance preserved  in  Mattliew  xi.  28-30  The  G-racious 
Invitation.  It  has  been  gradually  dawning  on  my 
mind  that,  without  prejudice  to  the  truth  underlying 
that  title,  the  saying  miglit  with  even  greater  aj^pro- 
priateness  be  described  as  the  pium  desiderium  of  the 
Great  Master  for  apt  scholars.  Its  setting  in  the  Gos- 
pel narrative  suggests  this  vicAV.  It  forms  the  suit- 
able close  of  a  chapter  whose  burden  is  disillusionment. 
Jesus  appears  in  this  chapter  as  a  disappointed,  though 
not  discouraged  or  utterly  forlorn,  Teacher.  Nowhere 
has  He  found  the  reception  He  might  reasonably  have 
looked  for.  The  Galileans  in  whose  synagogues  He 
has  preached,  the  people  whom  He  has  taught  and 
healed  wherever  they  gathered  in  crowds,  the  relig- 
ious guides  of  Israel,  even  John  the  Baptist  —  one  and 
all  have  failed  to  satisfy  His  desire  for  sincere,  intel- 
ligent, sympathetic  discipleship.  He  finds  consolation 
in  the  honest  attachment  of  some  humble  persons 
whom  He  calls  "babes."  Yet  "babes,"  while  a  com- 
fort, can  hardly  give  complete  contentment.  Some- 
thing higher  is  easily  conceivable  —  a  class  of  disciples 

102 


JESUS   LONGING    FOR   APT   DISCIPLES  103 

who  are  babes  and  more,  combining  the  simplicity  of 
children  with  the  understanding  and  experience  of 
men.  That  were  the  ideal  ;  it  is  for  that  Jesus  here 
sighs. 

If  this  sigh  of  the  Lord  Jesus  be  placed  in  its 
proper  historical  environment  in  the  eleventh  chap- 
ter of  Matthew,  its  date  is  approximately  fixed  by 
the  various  allusions  to  contemporary  opinions  con- 
tained therein.  That  the  synagogue  ministry  is  past, 
is  shown  by  the  complaint  against  the  three  cities.  ^ 
The  later  mission  to  the  publicans  lies  far  enough 
behind  to  give  time  for  the  coining  of  slanderous 
epithets  and  sneering  nicknames.^  The  fame  of  Jesus 
as  a  popular  Preacher  and  Healer  has  spread  far  and 
wide  till  it  has  even  reached  the  ears  of  the  illustrious 
prisoner  in  Machaerus,  provoking  that  doubting  mes- 
sage. Art  thou  the  Coming  One?^  The  hostility  of 
the  scribes  has  had  ample  space  to  develop  itself,  so 
as  to  make  it  manifest  that  nothing  but  contempt 
or  bitter  opposition  is  to  be  looked  for  from  the 
"wise  and  prudent."^ 

The  situation  thus  defined  suits  such  an  utterance 
as  that  contained  in  Matthew  xi.  25-30.  The  word 
and  the  environment  fit  into  each  other  so  well  as  to 
leave  little  doubt  that  the  Evangelist  has  given  that 
word  its  true  position  in  his  story,  and  as  little  that 
we  may  legitimately  interpret  it  in  the  light  of  its 
context.  In  that  case  its  general  character  is  at  once 
fixed.  It  is  the  utterance  of  One  who  is  profoundly 
conscious  of  isolation,  and  who  is  driven  in  upon  Him- 
1  vv.  20-24.  2  ^;.  19,  3  ^.  3.  4  ^.  25. 


104  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

self  and  upon  God,  yet  is  full  of  peace  and  hope  be- 
cause He  is  assured  that  His  Father  knows  and  approves 
Him,  and  will  not  leave  Him  forlorn.  Herein  the  soul 
of  Jesus  goes  first  up  to  God  in  resignation  and  trust,^ 
then  out  in  eager  longing  towards  an  ideal  discipleship 
not  actually  there,  perhaps  not  to  be  found  then  any- 
where within  the  bounds  of  Palestine,  but  existing  for 
the  prophetic  eye  in  the  womb  of  the  future,  and  to  be 
born  in  due  season. ^ 

Surprise  has  often  been  expressed  that  Luke  should 
have  failed  to  preserve  this  precious  oracle,  giving  only 
the  outpouring  of  Christ's  spirit  towards  God,  and 
omitting  what  seems  to  suit  his  pages  so  well,  the  out- 
going of  His  loving  heart  towards  the  labouring  and 
heavy-laden.  Of  this  hereafter.  Meantime  I  remark 
that  what  is  most  to  be  wondered  at  is  that  any  part 
of  the  utterance  has  been  preserved  ;  for  it  is  really  a 
soliloquy,  a  devotional  meditation  of  our  Lord  by  Him- 
self apart,  not  a  prayer  spoken  in  the  hearing  of  dis- 
ciples. Even  the  part  which  concerns  men,  the  sigh 
for  true  disciples,  was  not  meant  for  human  ears ;  it 
was  simply  a  private  breathing  in  which  the  weary 
heart  of  the  Master  unburdened  itself.  How  then  did 
it  become  known  to  any  ?  True  reverence  perhaps 
would  be  best  shown  by  abstaining  from  conjecture, 
but  a  simple  suggestion  may  be  pardoned.  A  ray  of 
light  seems  to  come  to  us  from  the  fact  that,  on  the 
testimony  of  Papias,  the  original  reporter  of  our  Lord's 
words  was  the  Apostle  Matthew,  a  publican,  and  in  vir- 
tue of  that  occupation  also  a  scribe.  We  have  already 
1  vv.  25-27.  2  .fjy.  28-30. 


JESUS   LONGING   FOR    APT   DISCIPLES  105 

seen  that  in  calling  a  publican  Jesus  had  an  eye  to 
service  in  connection  with  His  mission  to  the  class  to 
which  Matthew  belonged.  May  He  not  also  have  had 
in  view  service  with  the  pen  by  the  same  disciple,  act- 
ing as  a  kind  of  secretary?  How  was  it  possible  for 
Matthew,  years  after  the  Master  left  the  world,  to 
compile  that  book  of  Logia^  i.e..  Oracles  of  the  Lord? 
Did  he  draw  simply  on  a  retentive  memory?  Is  it 
not  more  likely  that  he  liad  at  command  memoranda 
written  in  bygone  disciple  days?  Would  not  the  in- 
stinct or  habit  that  led  him  to  write  the  Logia  lead 
him  to  take  notes  at  the  time  ?  and  may  the  desire 
that  this  should  be  done  not  have  been  one  of  the 
reasons  of  his  call  ?  But,  granting  the  reasonableness 
of  this  suggestion  with  reference  to  such  sayings  as 
those  which  constitute  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  it 
may  be  asked,  What  has  all  this  to  do  with  a  solilo- 
quy of  Jesus  such  as  that  under  consideration  ?  How 
should  even  a  private  secretary  know  that  his  Master 
had  thought  or  spoken  so  ?  Who  can  tell  ?  Would  it 
surprise  you  if  the  one  disciple  who  had  access  to  the 
Master  at  such  a  solemn  hour  was  just  the  publican; 
the  last  first,  the  despised  one  privileged  to  be  the 
confidant  of  the  still  more  Despised  One,  despised  too 
very  specially  on  account  of  the  relations  He  had 
chosen  to  enter  into  with  the  class  to  which  that  dis- 
ciple belonged  ?  When  Jesus  uttered  this  prayer.  He 
passed  through  a  kind  of  minor  agony.  At  the  hour 
of  the  greater  agony  He  desired  to  have  three  disciples 
near  Him.  What  wonder  if  He  chose  one  to  be  with 
Him  at  the  earlier  crisis,  and  just  the  one  most  fitted 


106  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

by  his  own  previous  experience  to  understand  the 
Master's  mood? 

Not  doubting  that  in  the  closing  part  of  a  ^jrecious 
leaf  from  the  private  prayer-book  of  Jesus,  though  pre- 
served in  the  First  Gospel  alone,  we  have  a  true  word 
of  the  Lord,  let  us  try  still  further  to  penetrate  into 
its  inmost  meaning. 

In  the  utterance  beginning  with  "  I  thank  Thee, 
O  Father,"  and  ending  with  "  My  yoke  is  easy  and  my 
burden  is  light,"  there  is  a  mixture  of  conflicting  feel- 
ings—  of  satisfaction  and  longing,  of  thaukfulness  for 
babe-disciples,  and  intense  desire  for  disciples  who  are 
"babes"  and  something  more.  The  babes  include  the 
Twelve,  though  not  them  alone.  Therefore  Christ's 
feelins:  even  about  them  is  of  a  mixed  character.  He 
is  pleased  to  have  these  simple  Galileans  about  Him, 
and  yet  they  do  not  fill  His  heart.  He  is  conscious  of 
isolation  in  their  company.  They  love  Him,  but  they 
do  not  understand  Him.  He  has  many  thoughts  in 
His  mind,  which  He  must  speak  if  He  is  to  fulfil  His 
mission,  and  make  known  to  the  world  the  vision  of 
the  Kingdom  which  lies  before  His  spiritual  eye.  But 
to  whom  are  they  to  be  spoken  ?  To  these  babes  ?  Yes, 
if  no  better  audience  can  be  had.  They  possess  one 
fundamental  requirement  of  discipleship  —  moral  sym- 
pathy with  the  Teacher.  They  are  ready  to  hear  what 
He  has  to  say,  and  they  implicitly  trust  in  His  wisdom. 
To  such  hearers  it  is  not  idle  to  speak  ;  revelation  of 
the  things  of  the  Kingdom  to  the  like  of  them,  to  some 
extent  at  least,  is  possible.  But  "these  things"  can  be 
shown  to  such  only  in  part.     They  cannot  understand 


JESUS    LONGING    FOR    APT   I)IS(;iPLES  107 

them  fully  now,  perhaps  never.  The  natural  limita- 
tion of  their  thinking  powers,  still  more  the  limitations 
of  their  experience  in  the  past  or  in  the  future,  may 
present  an  insurmountable  barrier  to  complete  compre- 
hension of  the  ideas  of  their  Master.  It  is  possible 
that  there  is  not  one  among  them  who  has  it  in  him 
to  attain  full  insight  into  the  Christianity  of  Christ, 
or  to  become  so  completely  possessed  by  the  Master's 
mind  as  to  be  fit  for  the  role  of  a  thoroughly  compe- 
tent enthusiastic  interpreter.  It  may  be  assumed  as 
certain  that  not  all,  or  even  the  majority,  of  them 
possess  any  such  capacity.  But  to  the  presence  or 
absence  in  his  disciple-circle  of  persons  endowed  with 
such  capabilities  no  great  teacher  or  religious  initiator 
can  be  indifferent.  He  will  make  the  powers  of  his 
scholars  a  subject  of  frequent  study.  He  will  often 
consider  what  they  severally  are  good  for,  what  part 
this  one  or  that  one  is  fitted  to  play.  And  if  among 
them  all,  after  due  consideration,  he  find  no  one  able  to 
receive  or  effectively  reproduce  his  scheme  of  thought, 
whatever  pleasure  he  may  have  in  their  society,  he  will 
certainly  not  be  free  from  a  haunting  sense  of  loneli- 
ness and  sadness. 

It  is  in  some  such  mood  and  for  such  reasons,  it 
appears  to  me,  that  Jesus  here  speaks.  With  longing 
heart  He  looks  over  the  heads  of  the  actual  disciple- 
circle,  with  wistful  eye,  in  quest  of  an  ideal  disciple- 
ship. 

But  how  is  the  ideal  to  be  defined  ?  What  are  the 
marks  of  the  perfectly  apt  disciple?  Jesus,  we  observe, 
addresses  Himself  to  the  "labouring  and  heavy  laden." 


108  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

Is  that  the  kind  of  description  we  shoukl  look  for, 
assuming  that  an  ideal  discipleship  is  in  view?  To 
answer  the  question,  one  must  have  some  sort  of  a 
priori  conception  of  the  ideal.  How,  then,  are  we  to 
conceive  it  ?     Somewhat  after  this  manner : 

1.  The  ideal  disciple  will,  of  course,  possess  in  a 
high  degree  the  disciple-spmY ;  desiring  wisdom  above 
all  things,  with  a  single  mind  and  a  pure  heart. 

2.  He  will  feel  profoundly  that  he  has  not  yet 
attained.  No  one  comes  to  the  school  of  the  wise  who 
is  self-satisfied  —  who  thinks  he  knows  all  and  can 
himself  teach  others. 

The  first  of  these  qualities  differentiates  the  disciple 
from  the  ordinary  frequenter  of  synagogues,  or  the 
average  hearer  in  a  street  crowd.  The  second  differ- 
entiates the  disciple  from  the  "wise  and  prudent." 
Both  qualities  were  possessed  by  the  Twelve,  and 
therein  their  Master  had  cause  for  satisfaction.  But 
there  is  a  third  quality,  which  they  probably  all  lacked. 

3.  The  ideal  disciple  is  one  who  has  been  prepared 
for  receiving  the  instruction  of  a  new  master  by  dis- 
appointing trial  of  other  masters.  He  has  toiled  in 
the  quest  of  wisdom  and  has  failed.  He  comes  to  the 
new  school  a  weary  man,  longing  for  the  rest  which  the 
revelation  of  truth  satisfying  to  the  whole  inner  being 
brings.  He  comes  thoroughly  qualified  to  appreciate 
the  lessons  he  is  to  be  taught  by  knowledge  of  other 
doctrines  with  which  he  can  compare  them.  For  men 
living  in  Palestine  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  this  would 
mean  acquaintance  with  the  teaching  of  the  Rabbis, 
and  the  discovery  by  earnest  experiment  of  its  unsatis- 


JESUS   LONGING    FOR    APT    DISCIPLES  109 

factory  character.  It  would  mean,  in  other  words,  an 
experience  similar  to  that  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  who  was 
first  an  enthusiastic  disciple  of,  and  then  a  convert 
from,  Rabbinism.  Saul's  soul-history  in  those  years 
was  a  very  tragic  business  —  a  sore  toil  of  the  spirit 
ending  in  vexation  and  heaviness  of  heart.  What  if  he 
had  met  Jesus  while  He  was  on  earth,  become  one  of 
His  disciples  and  heard  His  golden  words,  and  seen  His 
gracious  deeds  from  day  to  day,  instead  of  being  "  one 
born  out  of  due  time  "  ?  i  It  might  have  made  some 
difference  in  his  conception  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  in  the  colour  of  his  writings.  But  be  this  as  it 
may,  what  I  wish  to  say  now  is  that  it  was  for  such 
disciples  as  he  that  Jesus  craved  ;  for  men  who  were 
not  merely  simple,  sincere,  and  honest-hearted,  but  also 
in  possession  of  spiritual  senses  exercised  to  discern 
between  good  and  evil  ;  that  is  to  say,  not  only  between 
the  obviously  good  and  evil,  but  between  the  really  and 
the  reputedly  good  and  between  the  reall}^  and  the 
reputedly  evil.  To  that  the  Twelve  had  not  attained. 
Possibly  there  was  not  a  single  man  living  in  Palestine 
at  that  time  that  had  attained.  The  man  who  came 
inquiring  concerning  eternal  life  was  on  the  way  to  the 
attainment  ;  hence  the  interest  he  created  in  the  mind 
of  Jesus,  who  saw  in  him  a  possible  Paul  or  Barnabas, 
and  may,  for  ought  we  know,  have  thought  of  him  as 
a  substitute  for  a  false  disciple  already  suspected  of 
treason.  But  he  had  the  fatal  defect  of  insufficient 
earnestness.  He  knew  more  than  he  was  prepared  to 
put  in  practice. 

1  1  Cor.  XV.  8. 


110  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

Is  the  ideal  disciple,  as  just  described,  properly  desig- 
nated by  the  epithets  "labouring  and  heavy  laden"? 
Yes,  if  we  take  the  words,  as  they  surely  ought  to  be 
taken,  in  a  spiritual  sense.  There  is  no  toil  so  arduous 
as  the  quest  of  tlie  summum  bonum  when  carried  on  in 
the  spirit  of  a  Paul  or  a  Buddha,  and  no  burden  so 
heavy  as  that  of  the  heart  which  has  long  sought  and 
not  yet  found  it.  Those  who  have  passed  through  the 
experience  know  the  truth  of  this  statement,  though 
to  others  it  may  seem  a  great  exaggeration.  Christ 
comprehended  the  labour  and  the  burden,  and  pitied 
the  sufferer,  and  yearned  to  give  him  relief.  Let  us 
not  be  deceived  by  the  simple  terms  in  which  He 
addresses  him  into  the  prosaic  idea  that  it  is  purely 
physical  toil  and  weariness  He  has  in  view,  and  that  in 
a  spirit  of  disgusted  reaction  He  turns  from  the  dis- 
dainful scribe  to  the  illiterate  peasant  for  satisfying 
discipleship.  Bodily  labour  and  fatigue  simply  serve 
the  purpose  of  an  emblem.  The  toil  present  to  His 
mind  is  not  that  which  has  for  its  object  the  meat  that 
perisheth,  but  that  which  has  for  its  aim  the  meat  that 
endureth  unto  everlasting  life.  So  understood,  the 
words  of  Jesus  necessarily  point  to  the  highest  type  of 
religious  experience,  that  which  is  heroic  in  effort  and 
temper  and  tragic  in  career.  Nothing  short  of  that 
deserves  to  be  so  characterised.  Feeble  desire  for  the 
eternal  is  not  labour,  and  failure  to  obtain  the  object  of 
such  desire  is  no  burden. 

When  we  know  who  are  meant  by  the  "labouring 
and  heavy  laden  "  we  understand  why  Jesus  describes 
Himself  as  "meek  and  lowly  in  heart."     Till  we  per- 


JESUS   LONGING    FOR   APT    DISCIPLES  111 

ceive  who  are  addressed,  we  fail  to  discern  any  fitness 
in  the  allusion.  Might  not  the  Teacher  with  equal 
appropriateness  have  specified  some  other  characteris- 
tics ?  Probably  many  a  student  of  the  Gospels,  while 
drawn  to  this  oracle  by  its  inexpressible  charm,  has  had 
such  a  feeling,  though  hardly  willing  to  avow  it  to  him- 
self. The  feeling  disappears  when  we  have  defined  the 
ideal  disciple.  The  underlying  thought  is  then  seen  to 
be  that  the  moods  of  Master  and  scholar  correspond. 
The  weary  seeker  after  wisdom,  or  the  knowledge  of 
the  Highest  Good,  is  meek  and  lowly.  He  is  as  one 
whose  heart  has  been  broken  and  his  spirit  bruised. 
His  heart  is  not  haughty,  nor  his  eyes  lofty.  His  soul 
is  even  as  a  weaned  child.  He  needs  one  who  can 
speak  tenderly  as  well  as  wisely,  fully  acquainted  with 
his  case,  and  sympathetic  in  his  attitude  towards  both 
his  aspirations  and  his  disappointments.  As  such  an 
one  Jesus  offers  Himself.  To  the  labouring  and  heavy 
laden  He  in  effect  says:  "  The  Lord  God  hath  given  Me 
the  tongue  of  the  learned,  that  I  should  know  how  to 
speak  a  word  in  season  to  him  that  is  weary."  And 
how  has  He  acquired  this  supreme  talent  ?  By  an 
experience  of  disappointment  answering  to  that  of  those 
whom  He  invites  to  His  school.  They  have  been  dis- 
appointed in  their  teachers.  He  has  been  disappointed  in 
His  scholars.  In  synagogue  and  street  crowd,  among 
the  disciples  of  the  Rabbis,  and  even  in  His  own  disciple- 
circle,  His  experience  has  been  disenchanting:  limited 
receptivity  at  the  best,  not  infrequently  a  total  lack  of 
receptivity.  So  the  ideal  disciple  and  He  need  one 
another,  and  suit  one  another.     He  needs  them  to  fill 


112  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

His  teacher's  heart,  they  need  Him  to  satisfy  the 
hunger  of  their  souls.  And  there  is  mutual  sympathy  as 
well  as  mutual  need.  Similarity  in  experience  has  pro- 
duced congeniality  of  temper. 

When  such  a  Teacher  and  such  scholars  meet,  one 
can  predict  what  will  happen.  They  will  find  solace 
in  each  other's  company.  Of  that  also  Jesus  speaks, 
though  only  on  one  side  of  the  joint  experience.  Of 
the  solace  the  disciple  will  bring  to  Him,  He  makes  no 
mention  ;  but  to  the  solace  He  will  communicate  He 
does  refer  in  these  words  :  "  And  ye  shall  find  rest  to 
your  souls."  There  will  be  at  least  the  rest  that  comes 
from  the  sense  of  being  perfectly  understood  and  fully 
sympathised  with.  But  that  is  not  all  that  is  needed. 
There  must  be  instruction  as  well  as  sympathy.  The 
Teacher  must  be  able  to  give  what  the  scholar  has 
hitherto  sought  in  vain  :  a  word  of  eternal  life  that 
shall  bring  contentment  to  the  whole  inner  being  — 
mind,  heart,  conscience.  Jesus  recognises  this  when 
He  speaks  of  His  "  yoke."  The  taking  of  the  yoke 
means  coming  to  His  school,  and  the  invitation  to  come 
is  an  acknowledgment  of  obligation  on  His  part  to  per- 
form the  Teacher's  role.  He  must  teach,  and  teach 
satisfactorily,  so  that  the  pupil  shall  not  need  to  leave 
Him,  as  he  has  left  others,  and  go  in  quest  of  a  new 
teacher.  And  accordingly  He  promises  satisfaction  by 
characterising  His  yoke  as  ''  easy."  A  teacher's  yoke  is 
easy  when  his  doctrine  commends  itself  to  reason  and 
conscience.  An  easy  yoke  does  not  necessarily  imply  a 
low,  accommodating  ideal  of  life.  On  the  contrary, 
the  teacher's  ideal  may  be  lofty,  exacting,  apparently 


JESUS    LONGING    FOR    APT    DISCIPLES  llo 

unattainable,  yet  the  reverse  of  burdensome  because 
sweetly  reasonable  and  true  to  the  deepest  instincts  of 
the  soul.  Such,  as  we  shall  see,  was  the  moral  ideal  of 
Jesus  as  set  forth  in  His  recorded  words  :  high  and 
difficult,  yet  not  grievous  ;  awakening  enthusiasm, 
therefore  no  burden  to  the  spirit.  What  a  contrast 
to  the  yoke  of  the  Rabbis  I 

In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  interpretation  of 
Christ's  statement  concerning  Himself,  we  can  see 
clearly  how  feeble  is  the  argument  which  has  been 
based  upon  it  against  the  authenticity  of  the  saying 
"  Come  unto  Me."  Christ,  it  is  argued,  could  not  have 
said  "  I  am  meek  and  lowly "  just  because  He  was 
meek  and  lowly.  Self-eulogy,  even  in  soliloquy,  is 
incompatible  with  humility. ^  Various  things  might 
be  said  in  reply  to  this  ethical  canon  of  criticism.  But 
the  simplest  way  to  dispose  of  it  is  to  point  out  that 
what  we  have  in  the  words  objected  to  is,  properly 
speaking,  not  self -eulogy  but  self -description.  They 
describe  a  mood  rather  than  lay  claim  to  a  virtue.  If  it 
was  not  egotism  in  the  prophet  to  represent  himself 
as'  one  whom  God  had  trained  to  speak  a  word  in 
season  to  him  that  was  weary,  as  little  was  it  egotism 
in  Jesus  to  use  a  form  of  words  which  in  effect  means 
the  same  thing.  If  a  Psalmist  in  the  Divine  Presence 
might  say,  "  My  heart  is  not  haughty,"  why  might  not 
Jesus  say  "  I  am  meek  and  lowly "  without  prejudice 
to  His  humility?  Prophet,  Psalmist,  and  Jesus  all 
speak  out  of  the  same  mood,  not  in  a  spirit  of  boasting, 
rather  in  a  tone  of  self-humiliation.  Their  utterances 
1  So  in  substance  Martineau.     Vide  my  Apologetics,  p.  364. 


I 


114  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

are  the  devout  breathings  of  a  broken  and  contrite 
heart  too  familiar  with  the  vanity  of  life  while  still 
able  to  hope  in  God. 

The  view  here  presented  as  to  the  import  of  the 
saying  "  Come  unto  Me,"  and  the  mood  which  it  ex- 
presses, helps  us  moreover  to  understand  its  omission 
by  Luke,  assuming  that  he  was  not  unacquainted  with 
it,  but  knew  perfectly  well  that  it  formed  a  part  of 
a  larger  whole,  the  former  portion  of  which  he  has 
preserved.  We  have  seen  that  it  is  the  way  of  this 
Evangelist  to  exercise  editorial  discretion  in  reference 
to  whatever  affects  the  character  of  the  Lord  Jesus  or 
of  His  apostles,  omitting,  pruning,  strongly  stating, 
as  the  case  might  require.  This  idiosyncrasy  comes 
into  play  here,  giving  rise  to  modification  of  what  has 
been  retained,  and  to  the  omission  of  what  could  not 
be  modified.  The  modification  consists  in  the  altered 
mood  out  of  which  the  utterance  is  made  to  spring. 
In  Luke's  account  Jesus  speaks  at  a  moment  of  exult- 
ing gladness,  occasioned  by  the  glowing  reports  of  the 
Seventy  just  returned  from  their  evangelistic  mission. ^ 
The  historical  setting  there  assigned  to  the  devotional 
outpouring  is  intrinsically  improbable  as  compared  to 
that  given  to  it  in  ALitthew,  and  the  exultant  mood  as- 
cribed to  Jesus  is  hardly  Avhat  we  should  have  expected 
from  Him  even  in  such  a  connection  as  Luke's  nar- 
rative postulates.  That  the  great  Master  had  already 
found  His  own  ministry  disappointing  is  beyond  doubt. 
Is  it  likely  that  the  results  of  the  minor  efforts  of  the 
Twelve  or  of  the  Seventy,  however  gratifying  so  far 
1  Luke  X.  17-22. 


JESUS    LONGING    FOR   APT   DISCIPLES  115 

as  they  went,  would  move  him  to  ecstatic  joy,  and  to 
passionate  outpouring  of  His  soul  in  devout  thanks- 
giving? The  situation  and  the  mood,  as  conceived 
by  Luke,  are  wholly  inadequate  to  the  quality  of  the 
utterance.  It  is  another  instance  illustrating  his  in- 
ability to  do  justice  to  the  tragic  element  in  our  Lord's 
character  and  experience. 

The  omission  of  the  second  part  is  due  in  some 
measure  to  the  same  inability.  Luke  apparently  did 
not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  He  felt  instinctively 
that  it  did  not  fit  in  to  the  supposed  situation  and 
mood.  Two  things  would  give  him  this  feeling :  the 
unmistakable  tone  of  sadness  pervading  the  words, 
and  the  description  of  the  persons  addressed  as  labour- 
ing and  heavy  laden.  "  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart."  Luke  understood  better  than  some  modern 
critics  that  these  words  were  the  description  of  a  mood, 
not  a  piece  of  self-eulogy  ;  and  taking  them  so,  he 
perceived  their  unsuitableness  to  a  moment  of  trium- 
phant gladness.  That  was  one  reason  for  omission. 
Another  was  the  inapplicability  of  the  epithets  "labour- 
ing and  heavy  laden "  to  the  case  of  the  Seventy  or 
the  Twelve.  There  need,  indeed,  have  been  no  dif- 
ficulty on  that  score  if  the  words,  as  Resch  supposes,^ 
referred  to  the  fatigue  connected  with  the  recent  mis- 
sion, and,  as  employed  by  Jesus,  meant :  Come,  ye 
tired  and  weary  Evangelists,  and  I  will  give  you  a 
recreative  holiday.  But  I  do  not  think  it  possible 
that  an  idea  so  utterly  prosaic  could  ever  have  entered 

1  In  his  recent  work  on  The  Extra-canonical  Parallels  to  Matthew 
and  Mark,  p.  132. 


116  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

Luke's  head.  He  knew  enough  of  Christ's  intellectual 
habitudes  to  be  aware  that  the  labour  and  the  burden 
must  be  symbols  of  spiritual  experiences.  And  just 
there  lay  his  perplexity.  He  could  not  imagine  the 
members  of  the  disciple-circle  as  the  subjects  of  any 
such  experiences.  Were  they  not  rather  happy  men 
in  possession  of  enviable  privileges  and  powers?  Why 
should  they  be  asked  to  come  to  Christ's  school  ?  Had 
they  not  been  there  for  some  time  already,  and  had 
they  not  made  some  progress  in  the  lore  which  brought 
light  and  peace  and  contentment  to  the  spirit  ?  There 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  omit  the  words  so  long  as 
they  were  supposed  to  refer  to  the  disciple-circle. 
They  might  have  been  preserved  as  words  spoken  to 
other  persons,  as  expressing  a  desire  for  a  discipleship 
of  a  more  radical  and  satisfying  character.  But  that 
course  was  not  open  to  Luke,  who  was  ever  anxious 
to  spare  the  Twelve.  So  viewed,  the  "  Come  unto 
Me "  would  indicate  dissatisfaction  with  all  actual 
disciples  ;  therefore,  even  with  them.  Words  bearing 
such  a  meaning  Luke  would  certainly  not  report. 

Yet  one  other  argument  against  the  authenticity  of 
this  famous  saying  remains  to  be  disposed  of  ;  that, 
viz.,  based  on  an  alleged  literary  resemblance  between 
it  and  the  Prayer  of  Jesus  the  Son  of  Sirach^  in  the  last 
chapter  of  the  Old  Testament  Apocryphal  book  which 
bears  the  name  of  the  Wisdom  of  Sirach.  That  a  cer- 
tain resemblance  does  exist,  I  am  not  disposed  to  deny. 
There  is  just  enough  to  have  led  me  years  ago,  in  read- 
ing the  book,  to  note  in  the  margin  a  reference  to 
Matthew  xi.  28-30.     It  will  be  best  to  reproduce  the 


JESUS   LONGING    FOR    APT    DISCIPLES  117 

passage  in  which  the  likeness  appears,  so  that  readers 
may  judge  for  themselves.  In  the  version  of  the 
Apocrypha,  recently  published  by  the  Revisers  of  the 
Authorised  Version  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
it  stands  thus  : 

Chap.  li.  23.    Draw  near  unto  me,  ye  unlearned,  and 
lodge  in  the  liouse  of  instruction. 

24.  Say  wherefore  are  ye  lacking  in  these 

things,    and    your    souls    are    very 
thirsty. 

25.  I  opened  my  mouth   and   spake :    get 

her  for  yourselves  without  money. 

26.  Put  your  neck  under  the  yoke  and  let 

your  soul  receive  instruction;  she  is 
hard  at  hand  to  find. 

27.  Behold   with    your   eyes   how   that    I 

laboured  but  a  little  and  found  for 
myself  much  rest. 

28.  Get  you  instruction  with  a  great  sum 

of  silver  and  gain  much  gold  by  her. 

29.  May  your  soul  rejoice  in  His   mercy, 

and  may  ye  not  be  put  to  shame  in 
praising  Him. 

30.  Work     your     work    before    the     time 

cometh,  and  in  His  time  He  will  give 
you  your  reward. 

The  resemblance  is  in  the  passages  I  have  marked  in 
italics,  and  it  is  real  so  far  as  it  goes.  Far  from  wish- 
ing to  deny  this,  I  am  rather  tempted  to  exaggerate 


118  WITH   OPEN    FACE 

the  extent  of  the  likeness,  because  if  it  were  certain 
that  the  author  of  the  words  in  the  Gospel,  whoever  he 
was,  had  the  Prayer  of  the  Son  of  Sirach  in  his  view, 
an  argument  might  thence  be  drawn  for  the  unity  of 
the  whole  passage  (Matt.  xi.  25-30).  For  Sirach's 
prayer,  like  this  evangelic  section,  begins  with  a  prayer 
and  ends  with  an  invitation,  and  the  first  word  of  both 
prayers  is  the  same.^  If  the  utterance  of  the  later 
Jesus  be  a  composition  based  on  the  devout  outpouring 
of  the  earlier,  then  Matthew  has  preserved  the  whole  of 
it  and  Luke  has  given  only  a  fragment.  It  is  worth 
noting  a  literary  affinity  which  has  any  chance  of  yield- 
ing so  satisfactory  a  result.  But  it  may  be  feared  that 
what  we  gain  in  one  direction  we  lose  in  another.  In 
other  words,  the  question  readily  suggests  itself,  Does 
the  literary  affinity,  once  recognised,  not  compel  the 
admission  that  Matthew  xi.  25-30  is  not  a  genuine 
utterance  of  our  Lord,  but  a  composition  by  the  Evan- 
gelist, or  by  some  one  from  whom  he  has  borrowed  ? 
Without  hesitation  I  say,  by  no  means.  Why  should 
not  the  resemblance  in  question  be  the  result  of  an 
acquaintance  on  the  part  of  Jesus  Himself  with  the 
Wisdo7n  of  Sirach,  an  acquaintance  dating  possibly 
from  boyhood,  and  leaving  its  traces  in  phrases  which 
perhaps  unconsciously  colour  the  style  of  His  address 
to  ideal  disciples  ?  How  far,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  ac- 
quaintance with  an  Apocryphal  book  such  as  Sirach 
was  likely  to  be  possessed  by  non-professional  Galileans 
in  the  time  of  Christ,  I  do   not   know.     But    on  the 

1  "  I  will  give  thanks  to  Thee,"  in  Sirach  ;  "  I  thank  Thee,"  in  the 
Gospel. 


JESUS    LONGING    FOR    APT    DIS(;rPLES  119 

hypothesis  we  are  considering,  some  one  belonging  to 
the  early  Christian  Church  knew  the  book  ;  and  if 
that  was  possible  for  him,  why  not  also  for  Jesus? 
And  if  the  book  was  within  His  reach,  I  do  not  think 
He  would  have  any  scruple  about  perusing  it.  He 
might  read  it  as  a  good  book  though  not  canonical  ; 
and  though  abstaining  in  the  time  of  His  public  minis- 
try from  citing  it  as  authoritative  Scripture,  He  might 
not  think  it  necessary  to  be  anxiously  on  His  guard 
against  allowing  its  phrases  to  find  an  occasional  faint 
echo  in  His  own  style. 

All  this  is  merely  hypothetical  reasoning.  Whether 
the  resemblance  between  the  two  devotional  utterances 
be  more  than  an  accident,  I  am  not  prepared  confi- 
dently to  determine.  It  is  so  slight  that  it  might 
quite  well  be  an  utterly  undesigned  coincidence.  It 
concerns  the  expression  chiefly,  hardly  at  all  the 
thought,  in  respect  of  which  the  utterance  of  the  Lord 
is  incomparably  superior.  Even  in  the  matter  of  style 
the  words  of  the  earlier  Jesus  are  poor  by  comparison. 
How  artificial  and  stilted  its  diction  compared  with  the 
simplicity,  felicity,  and  spontaneity  of  the  "  Come  unto 
Me "  !  This  has  taken  its  place  among  the  golden 
words  of  the  religious  literature  of  mankind.  The 
"  Draw  near  unto  me  "  of  Sirach  has  nothing  in  it  to 
insure  even  temporary  fame,  not  to  speak  of  immortal- 
ity. It  is  redolent  of  the  lamp  rather  than  of  Divine 
inspiration.  I  owe  an  apology  to  devout  Christian 
people  for  placing  the  two  prayers  side  by  side  even 
for  a  moment.  ]\Iy  excuse  must  be  that  modern  critics 
have  compelled  me. 


120  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

The  unity  of  Matthew  xi.  25-30  justifies  an  im- 
portant inference  as  to  the  central  truth  the  great 
Master  is  to  communicate  to  His  ideal  disciples.  It  is 
that  God  is  a  Father.  In  the  first  part  of  the  de- 
votional soliloquy  He  has  spoken  of  that  truth  as  a 
secret  which  it  is  His  exclusive  prerogative  to  reveal. 
It  must  be  supposed  to  be  present  to  His  mind  Avhen 
He  proceeds  to  invite  the  labouring  and  heavy  laden. 
That  truth  He  will  be  pleased  to  reveal  to  them.  The 
revelation  He  expects  to  give  them  deep  satisfaction. 
As  the  Revealer  of  that  truth,  they  will  recognise  in 
Him  a  Teacher  standing  in  sharp  contrast  to  their 
other  masters,  and  One  whose  yoke  is  easy  because  the 
truth  He  teaches  sets  free  from  everything  in  religion 
that  imposes  fetters  on  the  spirit.  Nothing  but  a  true 
doctrine  of  God  can  meet  the  requirements  of  the  case. 
The  vital  thing  in  religion  and  in  life  is  how  we  con- 
ceive God.  On  the  idea  we  cherish  of  the  Divine 
Being  it  depends  whether  our  religion  is  to  be  a  bnne 
or  a  blessing,  emancipating  or  enslaving,  in  moral  ten- 
dency elevating  or  degrading.  Come  then  to  Christ's 
school,  all  ye  who  desire  the  true  knowledge  of  God. 
Learn  of  Him  how  to  think  of  God,  man  and  their 
relations.  His  doctrine  solves  all  vital  problems  :  the 
problems  of  past  sin,  of  present  duty,  and  of  future 
destiny. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   ESCAPES    OF   JESUS 

Our  main  source  of  information  for  what  I  venture 
to  call  the  Escapes  of  Jesus  is  Mark's  Gospel.  The 
narrative  of  the  second  Evangelist  contains  sundry 
intimations  of  the  desire  of  our  Lord  to  get  away  from 
crowds  into  retreats  where  quiet  intercourse  with  His 
disciples  was  possible.  For  hints  are  not  wanting  that 
this  was  the  leading  aim  of  these  acts  of  retirement. 
As  a  sample  may  be  cited  these  words :  '•'  They  de- 
parted thence  and  passed  through  Galilee,  and  He 
would  not  that  any  man  should  know  it,  for  He  was 
teaching  His  disciples.  "^  Of  the  instruction  commu- 
nicated to  the  Twelve,  Mark  has  preserved  compara- 
tively little,  but  he  more  than  any  other  of  the 
Evangelists  has  made  apparent  how  much  they  needed 
it.  One  of  his  realistic  touches  is  a  question  he  repre- 
sents the  Master  as  addressing  to  His  disciples :  How 
do  ye  not  understand  ?2  The  disappointment  border- 
ing on  impatience  to  which  that  question  gave  occa- 
sional expression  was,  it  is  to  be  feared,  a  chronic 
feeling:  in  Christ's  mind  in  reference  to  the  men  whom 
He  had  chosen.  They  were  far  enough  from  being 
1  Mark  ix.  30,  31,  ^  Mark  viii.  21. 

121 


122     •  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

ideal  scholars,  and  Mark  of  all  the  Evangelists  takes 
least  pains  to  hide  the  fact.  That  they  did  not  under- 
stand is  patent  in  his  pages,  and  that  their  Master 
sought  opportunities  for  disj)elling  their  ignorance  is 
equally  so.  Thus  witness  is  indirectly  borne  in  this 
Gospel  to  extensive  instruction,  unreported  in  its 
pages,  which  we  are  prepared  to  find  in  fuller  reports 
of  our  Lord's  ministry.  It  is  noticeable  that  Mark,  as 
if  conscious  of  the  defect  of  his  Gospel  on  the  didactic 
side,  tries  to  compensate  for  the  lack  of  detail  by  gen- 
eral statements  as  to  activity  in  teaching  where  Mat- 
thew, e.g.^  strong  in  the  didactic  element,  represents 
our  Lord  as  occupied  in  a  healing  ministry.  Instances 
may  be  found  in  Mark  x.  1.,  xi.  18,  compared  with 
Matthew  xix.  2,  xxi.  14. 

The  escapes  of  Jesus  took  place  in  all  directions 
possible  for  one  whose  work  had  for  its  geographical 
area  the  western  margin  of  the  sea  of  Galilee.  He 
might  retreat  to  the  hill  country  behind,  or  to  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  lake,  or  to  the  northern  border- 
land. He  made  His  escape  successively  in  each  of 
these  directions ;  first  once  to  the  Hill,  then  twice  to 
the  eastern  shore,  then  twice  (apparently)  northwards, 
making  five  attempts  in  all  to  withdraw  into  congenial 
solitude.  The  first  three  were  escapes  from  the  people 
gathered  in  immense  crowds ;  the  last  two  were  escapes 
not  entirely  from  the  people  but  also  from  their  re- 
ligious leaders. 

1.  The  Escape  to  the  Hill.  — "He  goeth  up  into  the 
mountain."  ^  That  this  movement  was  of  the  nature 
1  Mark  iii.  13. 


THE    ESCAPES    OF    JESUS  123 

of  an  escape  becomes  clear  when  we  attentively  con- 
sider all  the  circumstances.  Very  significant  in  the 
first  place  is  the  fact  stated  just  before,  that  Jesus 
instructed  His  disciples  to  have  a  boat  waiting 
"because  of  the  crowd,  lest  they  should  throng 
Him."i  A  boat  of  course  could  be  of  no  use  for  an 
ascent  to  the  hill-tops,  but  the  point  to  be  noted  is  the 
desire  and  intention  to  escape  somehow,  and  in  some 
direction  when  the  crowd  became  inconveniently  large 
and  eager.  Such  a  crowd,  it  is  next  to  be  observed, 
had  gathered  around  Jesus  at  the  time  when  He  made 
the  ascent;  a  motley  company  of  diseased  i^ersons, 
elbowing  their  way  towards  Him  and  pressing  in  ujjon 
Him  from  every  side,  that  they  might  touch  His  body 
and  so  get  rid  —  as  they  hoped  —  of  their  ailments ; 
while  demoniacs  on  their  knees  screamed  in  hideous 
chorus:  "Thou  art  the  Son  of  God."  It  was  a  dis- 
orderly scramble  for  a  cure  threatening  danger  to  the 
person  of  the  Healer,  and  distasteful  to  His  spirit 
through  the  superstition  it  revealed;  and  it  is  no 
wonder  that  with  all  His  "  enthusiasm  of  humanity " 
He  wished  Himself  well  out  of  it.  The  ascent  of  the 
mountain  was  the  expedient  He  adopted  for  self-extri- 
cation ;  and  the  next  significant  circumstance  to  be 
noted  is  that  He  goes  not  alone,  but  accompanied  by  a 
band  of  men,  whom,  in  a  manner  not  indicated.  He 
picks  out  of  the  crowd,  to  serve  as  a  kind  of  body- 
guard. They  are  doubtless  chosen  with  an  eye,  not 
merely  to  this  immediate  service  of  protection,  but  to 
prospective  discipleship,  —  a  first  selection  out  of  which, 
1  Mark  iii.  9. 


124  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

after  due  acquaintance  in  the  hill  retreat,  a  second  will 
be  made,  sufficient  with  those  previously  called  to 
make  up  the  inner  circle  of  the  Twelve.  But  a 
defence  against  the  mob  they  are  meant  in  the  first 
place  to  be,  so  implying  a  resolute  purpose  to  secure 
for  a  season  relief  from  an  overwhelming  embarrassing 
popularity.  That  the  device  succeeded  appears  from 
the  fact  that  the  multitude  is  represented  as  reassem- 
bling on  learning  that  Jesus  had  descended  from  the 
mountain.  They  had  not  followed,  they  had  dispersed 
to  their  homes,  but  on  the  report  spreading  "He  is 
back  again,"  the  scarcely  lulled  enthusiasm  easily 
revived. 

How  was  Jesus  occupied  on  the  hill-tojD  ?  Mark  is 
silent  on  the  point,  but  one  cannot  hesitate  as  to  the 
answer.  What  could  He  be  doing  but  teaching  His 
disciples,  considering  their  need  of  instruction,  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  finding  leisure  for  this  important 
work,  and  the  welcome  recreation  that  would  come 
from  so  congenial  a  change  of  occupation  ?  And  see- 
ing that  the  ascent  of  the  mountain  was  of  the  nature 
of  an  escape  from  a  too  importunate  crowd,  the  proba- 
bility is  that  the  sojourn  up  there  was  prolonged  so  as 
to  give  time  for  the  vast  gathering  to  disperse,  and 
lasted  for  at  least  some  days,  during  which  a  consider- 
able body  of  instruction  could  be  given  in  separate  les- 
sons, each  day  having  its  own  theme.  In  short,  all 
points  to  this  as  the  occasion  on  which  the  so-called 
"  Sermon  on  the  Mount  "  was  delivered.  That  sermon, 
as  reported  in  JNIatthew,  is  probably  the  summary  of  a 
week's    instruction  in  a  summer  school  at  which  the 


THE   ESCAPES    OP   JESUS  125 

recently  selected  body  of  disciples,  including  the  Twelve, 
were  the  audience.  Instead  of  the  "  Sermon  on  the 
Mount "  it  might,  as  suggested  in  the  first  chapter,  be 
more  appropriately  called  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill. 
For  it  is  teaching,  not  preaching,  and  the  persons  ad- 
dressed are  not  a  large  miscellaneous  crowd,  but  a 
select  band  of  men  with  some  aptitude  for  disciple-lore. 
This  distinction  between  sermon  and  teaching,  people 
and  disciples,  while  not  without  justification  in  ]Mat- 
thew's  narrative,  is  by  no  means  firmly  adhered  to 
there,  and  all  traces  of  it  have  disappeared  in  Luke's 
version,  where  the  famous  discourse  of  our  Lord  as- 
sumes the  character  of  an  address  to  a  large  assembly 
such  as  that  from  which  in  Mark's  narrative  He  is 
represented  as  making  His  escape.  Yet  the  circum- 
stances as  described  in  the  Second  Gospel,  the  proba- 
bility that  the  ascent  there  mentioned  was  the  occasion 
on  which  the  discourse  was  delivered,  and,  last  but  not 
least,  the  nature  of  its  contents,  compel  the  conclusion 
that  a  limited  body  of  disciples,  not  a  miscellaneous 
assembly,  constituted  the  audience. 

Why  has  Mark  not  reported  any  of  that  memorable 
Teaching?  Possibly  because  he  was  not  able.  Such  a 
body  of  deep  thought  could  not  be  treasured  up  for 
long  years  in  the  memory  of  any  disciple,  however 
attentive  or  intelligent ;  therefore  Peter,  Mark's  apos- 
tolic source,  could  not  repeat  it  from  memory  in  his 
preaching.  In  all  probability  it  would  have  been  lost 
to  the  world  unless  some  disciple,  Matthew,  e.g.^  had 
made  written  memoranda  at  the  time.  These  memo- 
randa, we  must  suppose,  found  a  place  in  the    Oracles 


126  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

of  the  Lord.,  which,  according  to  Papias,  that  disciple 
compiled,  and  thence  passed  in  diverse  versions  to  the 
pages  of  our  First  and  Third  Gospels.  But  why  could 
not  Mark  also  have  got  them  from  the  same  source? 
Probably  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  did  not  know 
it.  The  contrary  view  indeed  has  been  very  confi- 
dently maintained  by  some  scholars,  very  specially  by 
Dr.  Bernhard  Weiss.  While  acknowledging  the  in- 
genuity of  that  able  theologian's  reasoning,  I  think  the 
point  very  doubtful ;  and  one  of  my  reasons  for  doing 
so  is  just  this,  that  Mark  is  so  utterly  silent  about  the 
Teaching  on  the  Hill. 

2.  The  first  Escape  over  the  Lake  to  the  Eastern  Shore. 
—  This  took  place  according  to  Mark  on  the  day  of  the 
Parabolic  Discourse,  and  that  it  was  indeed  of  the 
nature  of  an  escape  is  very  clear  from  his  narrative. 
On  the  same  day,  at  eventide,  when  He  had  ended  his 
address  from  the  boat  to  the  vast  multitude  on  the 
shore,  Jesus  abruptly  says  to  His  disciples  :  "  Let  us 
cross  over  to  the  other  side."^  Whereupon,  leaving 
the  multitude  where  they  were  (not  "sending  them 
away,"  as  the  Authorised  Version  has  it),  the  disciples 
take  Him  as  He  was,  i.e.,  witliout  delay  and  without 
any  preparations  for  a  journey,  along  with  them  in  the 
boat  eastward  as  directed. ^  It  was  an  escape  along  the 
only  possible  line  of  retreat,  landing  on  the  western 
shore  being  impossible,  owing  to  the  vastness  of  the 
crowd.  To  get  away  even  seawards  was  not  easy, 
other  boats  having  gathered  around  that  in  which  Jesus 
was,  full  of  people  eager  to  get  near  the  Speaker  that 
1  Mark  iv.  35.  2  jui^rk  iv.  36. 


THE   ESCAPES    OF   JESUS  127 

they  might  hear  Him  distinctly.^  These  apparently 
trivial  particulars,  as  given  in  the  Second  Gospel,  are 
obviously  realistic  reminiscences  of  an  eye-witness,  and 
when  duly  considered  call  up  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
situation.  Jesus,  weary  with  talking,  and  with  the 
excitement  of  a  great  assembly  (so  weary  that  He  falls 
asleep  as  soon  as  the  boat  begins  to  move),  desires 
quiet  and  rest,  and  at  a  glance  perceives  that  there  is 
only  one  way  of  obtaining  them,  and  gives  orders  ac- 
cordingly. His  disciples,  gathering  His  wish  from 
word,  tone,  and  gesture,  with  the  promptitude  of  ex- 
perts move  off  at  once,  without  a  tliought  of  where  pre- 
cisely they  are  going,  or  what  is  to  be  done  in  the 
matter  of  food  and  lodgings.  Possibly  their  impres- 
sion is  that  the  voyage  eastwards  is  simply  a  round- 
about way  of  getting  to  the  western  shore,  and  so 
home,  after  the  people  have  dispersed  in  the  evening 
twilight.  In  that  case  the  movement  would  have  been 
simply  an  escape  without  an  ulterior  object.  But  it  is 
probable  that  Jesus  had  more  in  view,  —  the  obtain - 
ment  of  a  time  of  leisure  in  a  region  where  He  was 
unknown,  during  which  He  might  discuss  with  the 
disciples  the  incidents  of  the  day  and  the  lessons  to  be 
gathered  from  them.  For  the  i^arabolic  discourse,  and 
especially  the  utterance  of  the  Parable  of  the  Sower, 
was  an  important  event  which  meant  much  for  the 
people,  for  Jesus,  and  for  the  Twelve. 

From  all  the  synoptical  accounts  it  is  clear  that  the 
parabolic    discourse,  and  especially  the    main  parable, 
formed  the  subject  of  a  conversation  between  Jesus  and 
1  Mark  iv.  36. 


128  WITH   OPEi!^   FACE 

His  disciples.  Over  the  time,  the  place,  and  the  pre- 
cise details  of  the  conversation,  a  certain  amount  of 
obscurity  hangs,  but  some  points  are  clear  :  that  the 
disciples  desired  to  know  why  their  Master  had  spoken 
to  the  people  so,  that  He  gave  them  explanations  on 
that  point,  and  that  He  further  took  pains  to  impress 
on  them  their  resjjonsibilities  as  disciples.^ 

As  to  the  first,  what  the  Twelve  desired  to  know 
was  probably,  not  why  their  Master  S23oke  to  the  peo- 
ple in  parables,  but  why  He  spoke  to  them  in  such 
parables.  That  He  spoke  to  them  in  parables  could  be 
no  surprise,  for  He  had  been  doing  that  all  along,  in 
every  synagogue,  and  wayside  discourse.  But  in  para- 
bles like  the  Sower,  there  was,  the  disciples  felt,  a 
new  element  :  a  tone  of  disappointment  audible,  a 
spirit  of  criticism  unmistakable.  They  perceived  of 
course  that  these  critical  parables  grew  out  of  the 
Master's  preaching  experience,  and  at  bottom  what 
they  wanted  to  know  was,  why  He  was  dissatisfied. 
And  His  reply  in  substance  was  that  for  various  reasons 
hinted  at  in  the  Sower,  and  further  explained  after- 
wards, in  very  many  cases  His  efforts  had  been  vain. 
The  word  had  not  fructified,  the  hearer  had  not  heard 
to  profit. 

From  reflections  on  this  depressing  topic  the  transi- 
tion would  be  easy  to  the  subject  of  disciple-responsi- 
bility. The  moral  of  the  parable-discourse  so  far  as 
the  Twelve  were  concerned  was  :  if  the  word  fail  of 
effect  in  so  many  instances,  see  that  there  be  no  failure 
in  your  case.  The  Master  was  saying  to  them  indi- 
1  Vide  Mark  iv.  10-25. 


THE   ESCAPES   OF   JESUS  129 

rectly  :  you  are  my  hope  ;  you  specially,  if  not  exclu- 
sively, are  my  good  soil,  soft,  deep  and  clean  ;  see  that 
ye  bring  forth  fruit  abundant  and  mature.  This  He 
said  to  them  directly  afterwards  in  private  intercourse, 
when  He  exhorted  them  to  take  heed  how  they  heard 
so  that  they  might  understand,  indicated  that  intelli- 
gence would  be  in  proportion  to  attention,  and  im- 
posed on  them  the  duty  of  communicating  knowledge 
thus  attained  ;  in  parabolic  language  the  duty  of  plac- 
ing the  lamp  on  the  stand.  ^  By  the  choice  parable  of 
the  Blade,  the  Ear  and  the  Ripe  Corn,^  He  gave  them 
to  understand  that  He  did  not  expect  them  to  realise 
His  ideal  in  a  day.  He  would  give  them  time,  and  be 
content  if  they  brought  forth  the  ripe  fruit  of  their 
schooling  eventually  as  the  result  of  a  law  of  gradual 
growth. 

3.  The  next  Escape  also  took  the  shape  of  a  voyage 
across  the  lake,  this  time  in  a  north-easterly  direction. 
It  occured  shortly  after  the  return  of  the  Twelve  from 
their  house-mission  in  Galilee.^  Its  character  as  an 
escape  is  distinctly  revealed  in  the  terras  in  wliich  the 
proposal  was  introduced  by  Jesus.  Its  ostensible  aim, 
as  therein  represented,  was  to  secure  an  interval  of  rest 
for  the  disciples  ;  not,  as  one  might  naturally  imagine, 
from  the  fatigues  of  the  mission,  but  from  the  incessant 
demands  created  by  a  constant  stream  of  people  coming 
and  going,  not  leaving  even  so  much  leisure  as  was  need- 
ful for  taking  food.*  The  attempt  to  get  away  from  the 
excited  crowd  in  this  case,  as  in  the  former,  proved  a 

1  3Iark  iv.  21-25.  2  3/^^,.^.  jy.  26-29. 

2  Mark  vi.  30,  31.  -  Mark  vi.  31. 


130  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

failure,  though  not  for  the  same  reason.  In  the  former 
instance  the  plan  was  frustrated  through  an  unex- 
pected encounter  with  a  madman ;  this  time  defeat  was 
due  to  the  enthusiasm  of  a  multitude  determined  not 
to  be  baulked,  who,  observing  that  the  Master  and  His 
disciples  were  making  for  the  head  of  the  lake,  started 
off  at  a  run  and  made  such  speed  as  to  be  on  the 
ground  before  them.^  In  both  cases  Jesus  had  to  do 
what  He  had  not  intended — perform  a  wonderful 
work :  on  the  earlier  occasion  curing  a  demoniac  who 
imagined  himgelf  possessed  by  a  legion  of  devils,  on  the 
later  feeding  tliousands  of  hungry  people  in  a  desert. 

There  is  a  mystery  about  this  third  flight  from  the 
people.  One  cannot  but  suspect  that  more  than  mere 
physical  rest  was  aimed  at.  What  was  the  meaning  of 
sending  the  Twelve  away  alone^  after  the  feeding,  back 
to  the  western  shore  ?  ^  It  looks  as  if  there  was  some- 
thing going  on  which  made  their  absence  desirable. 
And  what  did  that  coming  and  going  of  the  people  on 
the  other  side,  before  the  eastward  voyage,  signify? 
No  mention  is  made  of  sick  being  brought  to  be  healed. 
Something  else  seems  to  be  in  the  people's  mind  for 
the  moment.  What  can  it  be  ?  The  Fourth  Gospel 
here  crives  us  a  clue  in  the  remarkable  statement  that 
the  people  whom  Jesus  fed  in  the  desert  desired  per 
force  to  make  Him  a  King.^  If  that  was  really  the 
fact,  the  idea  did  not  come  into  their  heads  then  for 
the  first  time.  The  project  then  only  reached  its  cri- 
sis. That  was  what  the  coming  and  going  had  been 
about,  and  it  was  to  the  disciples  rather  than  to  the 
1  Mark  vi.  33.  -  Mark  vi.  45.  3  John  vi.  15. 


THE   ESCAPES    OP   JESUS  131 

Master  that  the  stream  of  visitors  came,  finding  them 
not  unsympathetic.  The  movement,  congenial  to  the 
spirit  of  Galileans  and  too  easily  put  into  their  minds, 
may  have  sprung  out  of  the  house-mission.  The 
Twelve  had  been  only  too  successful.  They  had 
talked  about  the  Kingdom  and  this  was  what  came  of 
it  —  a  political  scheme.  Wild  as  it  may  seem  to  us,  it 
would  appear  perfectly  natural  to  them.  What  was  to 
be  the  issue  of  that  immense  enthusiasm  ?  Was  it  to 
end  in  smoke?  Was  not  the  inevitable  consummation 
to  make  the  marvellous  Teacher  and  Healer  the  actual 
head  of  a  reformed  state  ? 

No  better  explanation  can  be  given  of  Christ's  mani- 
fest desire  to  separate  His  disciples  from  the  people 
than  the  supposition  that  the  Galileans  entertained 
such  a  project,  and  that  the  Twelve  more  or  less  sympa- 
thised with  it,  at  the  time  of  their  return  from  their 
mission.  Assuming  this  to  be  the  fact  we  understand 
what  kind  of  "  rest "  was  aimed  at.  It  was  above  all 
rest  from  illusions,  from  the  fever  of  false,  foolish 
enthusiasms,  from  mental  excitement  over  a  fond  scheme 
which,  if  not  resolutely  opposed,  would  end  in  disaster. 
Such  rest  Jesus  must  at  all  hazards  secure  for  His  dis- 
ciples if  they  are  to  be  of  any  use  to  Him,  to  help  and 
not  frustrate  His  plans.  The  time  has  come  when  the 
question,  Whither  ?  must  be  dealt  with.  The  Master 
knows  the  true  answer  to  the  question,  but  the  disciples 
do  not.  A  false  issue  is  in  their  view.  The  first  thing 
to  be  done  therefore  is  peremptorily  to  negate  the  issue 
they  contemplate.  To  accomplish  this  was  the  real 
motive  of  the  voyage  towards  the  north-eastern  shore. 


132  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

The  next  task  will  be  to  make  known  the  true  issue. 
To  secure  leisure  for  explanations  on  this  momentous 
topic  was  a  leading  motive  for  the  two  flights  remain- 
ing to  be  mentioned. 

4.  The  Escape  in  the  Direction  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.^  — 
Some  Biblical  scholars  are  of  opinion  that  there  was 
only  one  excursion  to  the  northern  confines  of  Palestine 
which  in  the  Gospel  narratives  has,  through  some  con- 
fusion in  the  tradition,  got  broken  up  into  two  :  a  longer 
one  into  the  territories  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  a  later, 
shorter  one  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Ci3esarea  Philippi. 
This  question  may  be  left  on  one  side,  all  the  more 
that,  even  if  there  were,  as  I  believe,  two  distinct  jour- 
neys, they  were  one  in  general  aim.  The  common  pur- 
pose of  both  was  to  get  away  for  a  season,  completely 
and  securely,  at  once  from  enthusiastic  but  foolish 
crowds,  from  well-meant  but  futile  political  plots,  and 
from  the  recently  manifested  ill-will  of  religious  leaders 
more  to  be  feared  than  anything,^  that  in  solitude  and 
silence  Jesus  might  brace  His  own  spirit  for  the  fatal 
crisis  which  from  concurrent  signs  He  knew  to  be 
approaching,  and  at  the  same  time  prepare  His  disciples 
for  an  issue  of  which  they  little  dreamt.  That  He 
went  so  far  away,  this  time,  needs  no  explanation. 
The  reason  simply  was  that  not  otherwise  could  He 
attain  His  end.  The  previous  attempt  to  escape  had 
failed  because  the  place  of  retreat  was  too  near  the 
scenes  of  labour.     The  new  movement  of   retirement 

1  Nark  vii.  24. 

-  Vide  the  encounter  between  Jesus  and  the  scribes  in  reference  to 
washing  of  hands  in  Matthew  xv.  1-20  ;  Mark  vii.  1-22. 


THE    ESCAPES    OP    JESUS  133 

therefore  must  be  towards  regions  so  remote  that  pur- 
suit was  not  to  be  apprehended.  And  it  must  be 
northwards,  not  southwards,  for  geographical  and  for 
moral  reasons.  The  northern  boundary  lay  nearest 
Galilee,  and  the  time  had  not  come  for  the  southern 
journey.  Jesus  will  go  to  Jerusalem  to  die  ;  He  must 
go  to  the  North  to  'prepare  to  die. 

The  first  of  the  two  northerly  excursions  seems  to 
have  been  of  considerable  extent.  Mark  names  in  con- 
nection with  it  Tyre,  Sidon,  Decapolis^  and  the  sea  of 
Galilee.  Connecting  these  points  we  get  a  journey, 
first  northwards  to  and  through  the  above  named  mari- 
time countries,  then  eastwards  over  the  Lebanon  range 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  Damascus,^  then  southwards 
and  westwards  through  the  region  of  the  ten  cities, 
and  finally  over  the  Jordan  and  back  through  Galilee 
to  the  original  point  of  departure.  If  this  was  the 
route  it  would  occupy  a  considerable  time.  How  were 
the  days  of  that  eventful  pilgrimage  filled  up  ?  The 
Gospel  records  here  are  very  meagre.  Mark  tells  us 
most,  but  even  he  reports  only  a  couple  of  incidents  : 
the  encounter  with  the  woman  of  Canaan,  and  the  cure 
of  a  deaf-mute,  apparently  at  some  point  on  the  route 
through  Decapolis.  In  both  cases  he  takes  pains  to 
show  how  much  Jesus  desired  privacy.  In  connection 
with  the  earlier  incident  he  remarks  that  Jesus  "  would 
have  no  man  know,"  where  He  was,^  and  in  connection 
with  the  later  he  carefully  notes  that  Jesus  took  the  deaf- 
mute  "aside  from  the  multitude  privately,"  and  after  the 

1  Pliny  includes  Damascus  in  Decapolis  (H.  N.  Cap.  V.  16). 

2  Mark  vii.  24. 


134  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

cure,  charged  all  who  witnessed  it  to  "tell  no  man."^ 
The  second  Evangelist  stands  alone  in  the  emphasis  with 
which  he  brings  out  this  fact  in  reference  to  the  later 
period  of  our  Lord's  life,  though  even  he  fails  to  explain 
fully  its  rationale.  That  h.appilj^,  with  due  reflection 
on  the  data  supplied,  we  are  able  to  do  for  ourselves. 
Both  the  incidents  reported  by  Mark  possess  their 
own  distinctive  points  of  interest.  The  prominent 
feature  in  the  earlier  occurrence  is  the  seeming  reluct- 
ance of  Jesus  to  grant  the  succour  craved  by  a  distressed 
mother  for  her  suffering  daughter.  In  the  later,  while 
still  bent  on  privacy,  He  made  no  objection  to  working 
the  cure  asked,  though  in  this  case  also  the  sufferer  was 
not  improbably  a  Gentile.  What  did  that  reluctance 
mean  ?  In  Matthew's  narrative  Jesus  is  reported  to 
have  pled  as  an  excuse  for  it  that  His  INIission  was  to 
the  lost  sheep  of  Israel.  The  plea  might  have  provoked 
the  rejoinder.  Why  then  are  you  here  ?  Israel's  Sav- 
iour a  fugitive  from  Israel's  land  !  Perhaps  that  Avas 
just  what  Jesus  Himself  was  thinking  of  at  the  moment, 
and  also  what  He  wished  His  disciples  to  reflect  on. 
His  position  as  a  fugitive  was  fitted  of  itself  to  raise  in 
His  mind  the  question  as  to  the  ultimate  destination 
of  His  Gospel.  In  the  circumstances  the  coincidence 
of  the  Syrophenician  woman's  request,  in  spite  of  His 
desire  to  remain  unknown,  would  readily  assiune  the 
significance  of  an  omen.  An  isolated  case  might  thus 
be  transformed  into  a  representative  instance,  the  whole 
Gentile  world  in  the  person  of  that  Syrian  motlier  say- 
ing in  beseeching  tones  :  Come  over  and  help  us  !  On 
1  Mark  vii.  33,  36. 


THE    ESCAPES    OF    JESUS  135 

that  hypothesis  the  reluctance  to  heal  becomes  very 
intelligible.  In  other  circumstances  Jesus  might  have 
granted  the  request  without  hesitation  and  without 
remark,  viewing  tlie  case  as  a  mere  exception  involving 
no  principle.  But  in  the  actual  situation  He  has  to 
realise  for  Himself  the  serious  import  of  what  He  is 
asked  to  do,  and  also  if  possible  make  it  apparent  to 
His  disciples.  To  Himself  He  has  to  say  :  My  Mission 
was  to  Israel,  is  this  a  new  call  ?  To  His  disciples  : 
You  sympathised  witli  the  wish  of  the  Galileans  to 
make  me  King  of  a  reformed  Israel ;  do  you  know 
Avhat  the  request  of  this  woman  which  you  seem  in- 
clined to  back  really  signifies  ?  It  portends  the  trans- 
ference of  the  Kingdom  of  God  from  Jewish  to  Gentile 
soil.  What  Jesus  said  to  the  woman  may  be  inter- 
preted in  the  light  of  the  same  hypothesis.  "  It  is  not 
permissible,  or  it  is  not  meet,  to  take  the  children's 
bread,  and  to  cast  it  to  the  dogs,"  said  He  with  apparent 
harshness.  Had  she  known  the  whole  facts  of  the  case 
she  might  have  replied  :  True  Master,  but  have  the 
children  not  already  got  their  bread,  and  have  they  not 
themselves  thrown  it  to  the  dogs  ?  Is  that  not  the  rea- 
son of  your  being  here  ?  That  would  have  been  an 
argument  difficult  to  answer  ;  yet  her  actual  reply  to 
Christ's  objection  served  her  purpose  even  better,  re- 
vealing as  it  did  a  humble  faith  which  went  straight  to 
His  heart  and  suggested  the  thought  :  The  Pagans 
after  all  not  dogs  but  children. 

Jesus,  it  seems  to  me,  used  the  case  of  the  Syrophe- 
nician  woman  to  give  His  disciples  an  object-lesson  on 
the  claims  of  the  Gentile  ivorld.     And  the  whole  of  that 


136  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

circular  journey  in  Gentile  lands  would  be  an  educa- 
tion to  them  on  that  subject,  and  probably  was  intended 
by  their  Master  to  serve  that  purpose.  What  He  said 
to  them  we  know  not,  but  we  can  conceive  what  the 
world  itself  would  say.  "  The  sun  shines  here  as  well 
as  in  Galilee  ;  why  may  not  the  gracious  love  of  the 
Father  in  heaven  be  here  also  ?  "  Or  was  that  too 
abstruse  a  lesson  in  theology  for  them  as  yet  to  com- 
prehend ? 

The  leading  feature  in  the  later  incident  of  this 
journey  is  the  curious  details  regarding  the  manner  in 
which  our  Lord  effected  the  cure  of  the  deaf-mute. 
These  are  probably  not  to  be  regarded  as  an  indication 
of  Christ's  habitual  method  of  working  cures,  but 
rather  as  something  peculiar  to  the  individual  case,  and 
on  that  account  deemed  worthy  of  note  by  the  Evange- 
list, or  the  original  reporter.  The  acts  specified,  put- 
ting a  finger  into  each  ear,  and  touching  the  tongue, 
were  not  means  but  symbols  of  cure ;  and  perhaj)s  we 
should  find  in  their  use  on  this  occasion  a  hint  that  the 
disease  itself  had  for  the  mind  of  the  healer  a  symbolic 
significance:  physical  deafness  and  dumbness  an  em- 
blem of  the  spiritual  condition  of  Israel,  or  possibly  of 
the  Gentile  world.  Thus  may  be  explained  the  sigh 
which  Jesus  heaved  in  working  the  cure.  It  was  a 
sigh  not  over  the  physical  malady  of  an  individual,  but 
over  the  spiritual  malady  of  a  people,  in  Israel's  case, 
alas,  not  curable. 

5.      The   Escape   towards    Ccesarea   Philippic  —  The 

'  Matthew  xvi.  13;  Mai-k  viii.  27  ;  Luke  ix.  18.  There  is  no  indi- 
cation of  locality  in  Luke. 


THE    ESCAPES    OF    JESUS  137 

immediate  occasion  of  this  new  journey  towards  the 
north  was  the  demand  for  a  sign  on  the  part  of  the 
Pharisees,  which  to  our  Lord  appeared  a  thing  of  very 
evil  omen.i  As  to  its  pa^dagogic  purpose  in  reference 
to  the  disciples  there  is  no  room  for  doubt.  If  on  the 
earlier  journey,  by  the  way  of  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Decapo- 
lis,  Jesus  sought  to  familiarise  His  disciples  with  the 
thought  that  the  Kingdom  for  whose  coming  they  ar- 
dently longed  might  eventually  pass  away  from  Israel, 
during  this  later  one  His  aim  was  to  initiate  them  into 
the  mystery  of  His  own  ignominious  fate.  The  two 
subjects  were  closely  connected.  The  events  involved 
were  related  to  each  other  as  cause  and  effect.  The 
rejection  of  Jesus  would  have  for  its  necessary  conse- 
quence the  forfeiture  by  Israel  of  her  privilege,  the 
passing  of  the  vineyard  into  other  hands.  Logically, 
therefore,  the  fate  awaiting  their  Master  should  have 
been  the  first  subject  of  instruction  for  the  disciples. 
But  it  was  by  far  the  harder  theme,  therefore  it  formed 
the  subject  of  the  later  lesson.  It  was  a  wide  theme, 
with  many  aspects,  as  well  as  a  hard  one,  and  there  is 
ground  for  believing  that  during  the  weeks  taken  up 
with  the  Csesarea  excursion,  it  formed  the  leading  topic 
of  many  an  earnest  conversation.  With  reference  to 
a  certain  stage  of  the  journey,  Mark  states  that  Jesus 
was  teaching  His  disciples  and  was  saying  to  them  : 
The  Son  of  man  is  delivered  up  into  the  hands  of  men, 
and  they  shall  kill  Him.^     There  was  not  merely  an 

1  Matt.  xvi.  1 ;  Mark  viii.  11. 

2  Mark  ix.  31 .    The  verbs  represented  in  English  by  "  was  teaching  " 
and  "was  saying"  are  in  the  imperfect,  implying  continuous  action. 


138  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

announcement,  but  a  course  of  instruction.  The  fact 
was  stated  again  and  again,  and  made  the  subject  of 
explanatory  discourse  in  which  it  was  pointed  out  what 
causes  were  at  work  inevitably  leading  up  to  such  a 
catastrophe,  and  how  well  the  event  predicted  would 
correspond  with  Old  Testament  prophetic  anticipations. 
The  leaven  of  the  scribes  of  which  the  Master  had  bid 
His  disciples  beware,^  Avould  afford  matter  for  much 
talk,  as  supplying  in  its  evil  nature  a  sufficient  answer  to 
the  question.  Why  take  so  gloomy  a  view  of  the  future  ? 
And  the  prophetic  delineations  of  the  sufferings  of 
God's  servants  would  receive  their  due  share  of  atten- 
tion, as  showing  liow  likely  moral  fidelity  and  trib- 
ulation are  to  go  together  in  this  world.  No  fear  of 
conversation  flagging  in  the  Jesus-circle  in  those 
eventful  weeks. 

The  subject  was  first  introduced  on  the  way  north- 
wards towards  Cccsarea  Philippi  ^  and  very  appositely 
by  a  question  which  had,  and  was  probably  intended  to 
have,  the  effect  of  eliciting  from  the  disciples  a  decla- 
ration of  their  faith  in  the  Messiahship  of  their  Master. 
This  faith  was  not  the  birth  of  the  moment ;  it  was 
really  involved  in  the  sympathy  evinced  by  the  dis- 
ciples with  the  project  to  make  Jesus  King.  Jesus 
desired  now  to  draw  them  into  a  confession  of  their 
faith,  that  He  might  set  it  in  a  new  order  of  ideas. 
Hitherto  their  logical  position  has  been  :  the  Christ 
(shown  to  be  such  by  word,  deed,  and  spirit),  therefore 
worthy  to   be    Israel's   glorious    crowned  King.     The 

1  Matt.  xvl.  6  ;  Mark  viii.  15. 

2  Mark  viii.  27. 


THE    ESCAPES    OF    JESUS  139 

logic  of  the  scribes  on  the  contrary  has  been :  deserving 
by   his   conduct  to  die,    therefore   his    Christhood   in- 
credible.    Jesus   wishes    His   disciples   to   know   that 
neither  their  logic  nor  that  of  the  scribes  is  sound,  and 
that   the  truth  lies  in   the  antinomy:  the  Christ,  yet 
doomed  to  an  ignominious  death.     What  an  abstruse 
lesson  for  these   poor   fishermen  and  publicans  !     No 
wonder  they  kicked  against  the  goad.     But  there  was 
no  help  for  it.     Both  members  of  the  antinomy  were 
true,  and  neither  could  be  seen  in  its  full  truth  except 
in  company  with  the  other.     What  a  tragic  event  the 
death  of  Jesus  became  when  it  was  seen  to  be  the  death 
of  a  3Iessiah,  and  what  a  fierce  light  was  thrown  on  the 
nature  of   Messianic    dignities  and  functions  when  it 
was  made  clear  that  the  destiny  of  a  true  Christ  is  to 
be  crucified  by  and  for  the  world  !     It  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  Jesus  took  great  pains  to  indoctrinate  His  fol- 
lowers in  these  high  matters,  making  them  the  absorb- 
ing theme  of  conversation  from  this  time  onward.     Only 
by  much   iteration    could   they  be    made    intelligible. 
After  all  His  pains,  the  disciples  had  not  learnt  their 
lesson  when  the  end  came.     But  one  thing  they  did  un- 
derstand then:  that  what  had  happened  was  what  their 
Master  had  again  and  again  said  would  happen;  and 
this  helped  to  bring  them  safely  through  the  crisis. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

YOUR  FATHER  AVHO  IS  IN  HEAVEN 

We  return  to  the  first  Escape  and  to  the  Teaching  on 
the  Hill.  Up  there  on  the  mountain-top  Jesus  is  alone 
with  His  chosen  disciples,  enjoying  a  welcome  season 
of  recreation  away  from  the  sweltering  heat  and  the 
crowds  of  the  lake-margin,  and  finding  rest  in  a  change 
of  occupation.  The  Preacher  and  Healer  now  becomes 
the  Teacher,  initiating  His  scholars  into  the  mysteries 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Heaven's  peace  reigns  in 
the  hearts  of  Master  and  scholars  alike,  the  while.  It 
is  for  all  a  sacred  blessed  holiday.  The  holiday  mood 
is  traceable  throughout  the  recorded  sayings  of  the 
Master  during  this  season  of  repose;  the  tranquillity  of 
the  uplands,  the  neighbourhood  of  the  skies.  In  some 
parts  of  the  discourse  especially,  e.g.^  the  Beatitudes 
and  the  admonition  against  care,  there  is  a  divine  sim- 
plicity, a  lyric  beauty,  a  light-hearted  buoyancy  that 
charm  us,  and  tend  for  the  moment  to  transform  us  into 
citizens  of  the  Kingdom,  and  elevate  us  into  the  upper 
regions  of  celestial  tranquillity.  Here  we  have  a 
chance  of  seeing  into  the  very  heart  of  Jesus.  Of 
course  it  is  but  a  glimpse  that  is  now  attainable.  For 
an  elaborate  study  of  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill,  this  is 

140 


YOUR    FATHER   \VHO   IS   IN    HEAVEN  141 

not  the  place.  But  we  may  form  a  slight  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Master's  thoughts  concerning  God, 
man,  and  the  true  life  of  man.  The  first  of  these 
three  related  topics  will  engage  our  attention  in  this 
chapter. 

Christ  introduced  into  the  language  of  religion  a 
way  of  speaking  concerning  God  whicli  was  new,  if  not 
absolutely,  at  least  in  emphasis  and  import.  He  called 
God  Fathei'.  "  Your  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
But  He  did  not,  as  perhaps  we  might  have  wished, 
offer  any  formal  definition  of  the  sense  in  which  He 
used  the  name.  He  defined  simply  by  discrimmathig 
use,  employing  the  name  in  connections  of  thought 
which  invested  it  with  special  significance.  He  used 
the  title  in  this  way  sufficiently  often  to  invest  it  for 
the  minds  of  His  disciples  with  a  rich  net- work  of 
associated  qualities  furnishing  a  firm  support  to  relig- 
ious faith,  and  a  powerful  stimulus  to  right  conduct. 
It  occurs  some  fifteen  times  in  the  '*  Sermon  on  the 
Mount "  as  reported  by  Matthew,  so  that  by  the  end  of 
the  Sermon,  hearers  must  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  Speaker  did  not  employ  the  term  "  Father " 
mechanically  as  a  customary  expression,  but  of  set 
purpose  and  with  conscious  deliberate  preference.  It 
would  be  instructive  to  study  exhaustively  the  settings 
of  the  name  in  the  various  places  where  it  occurs. 
This  cannot  be  done  now.  It  must  suffice  to  indicate 
briefly  what  can  be  learned  concerning  the  Father  in 
heaven  from  the  most  representative  texts. 

Two  very  outstanding  texts  occur  in  the  fifth  Chap- 
ter, verses  16  and  45.     In  both  the  name  is  introduced 


142  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

to  suggest  a  motive  to  conduct  inculcated  upon  disci- 
ples. "  Let  your  light  shine "  because  thereby  your 
Father  will  be  glorified.  "  Love  your  enemies "  be- 
cause by  so  doing  you  will  be  like  your  Father,  who 
blesses  all,  evil  and  good,  just  and  unjust.  In  this  use 
of  the  name  the  nature  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood  is 
supposed  to  be  known.  But  the  same  texts  may  be 
utilised  as  an  aid  to  the  better  knowledge  of  the 
Fatherhood.  While  the  name  suggests  the  mo- 
tives, the  motives  in  turn  throw  light  on  the  name. 
It  is  the  light  so  thrown  we  are  concerned  with 
now. 

In  the  first  of  the  two  texts  the  motive  suggested 
implies  that  God  values  the  honour  brought  to  Him  by 
those  who  let  their  light  shine.  No  man  can  act  on 
the  motive  unless  he  believes  that  God  is  not  a  being- 
indifferent  to  conduct,  but  rather  one  who  takes  an 
earnest  interest  in  the  moral  behaviour  of  men.  This 
then  is  one  thing  Jesus  would  teach  when  He  calls  God 
Father.  It  is  His  fundamental  lesson  connected  with 
His  first  recorded  use  of  the  name  in  His  public  min- 
istry. He  says  in  effect: "God  is  your  Father,  you  are 
His  sons,  and  your  Father  would  have  you  behave 
worthily  as  His  sons.  He  taketh  pleasure  in  such 
behaviour  not  merely  because  of  the  honour  it  brings 
to  Him  through  its  influence  on  the  minds  of  other 
men,  but  for  its  own  sake.  His  eye  rests  Avith  com- 
placency on  all  who  acquit  themselves  in  the  world  as 
true  children  of  God."  This  doctrine  is  consonant  to 
the  relation  between  father  and  son.  A  father  expects 
honour  from  a  son  and  is  deeply  disappointed  when  he 


YOUR    FATHER   WHO   IS    IN   HEAVEN  143 

does  not  receive  it.  "  If  I  be  a  Father  where  is  mine 
honour."  ^  And  the  honour  every  right-minded  fatlier 
most  values  is  right  conduct.  Filial  courtesies  are 
well  in  their  way,  but  it  is  character^  a  life  true,  pure, 
earnest,  manly,  noble,  that  can  alone  satisfy  the  pater- 
nal heart.  Of  a  son  living  such  a  life,  every  father 
worthy  of  the  name  is  proud. 

To  this  statement  the  Father  in  heaven  is  no  excep- 
tion. He  delights  in  all  who  in  the  sense  of  the 
Preacher  let  their  light  shine.  Who  then  are  they  ? 
They  are  men  of  heroic  temper  ;  men  who  love  truth 
with  passion  and  will  speak  it,  come  what  may,  and 
hunger  after  righteousness  and  will  do  it  at  all  hazards. 
That  means  that  they  are  men  who  have  anything  but 
an  easy  time  of  it  in  this  world,  whose  temptation 
therefore  is  to  hide  their  light  and  s^ippress  their  con- 
victions to  escape  toil  and  trouble.  It  is  indeed  by 
way  of  warning  against  yielding  to  this  very  tempta- 
tion that  Jesus  utters  the  counsel  :  "  Let  your  light 
shine."  He  has  just  spoken  in  a  parabolic  way  of 
what  men  do  with  natural  lights.  "  Neither  do  men 
light  a  lamp  and  put  it  under  the  bushel "  thereby 
hinting  to  disciples  :  "  Put  ye  not  your  light  under 
cover,  set  it  rather  on  the  stand,  where  it  can  be  seen." 
Men  are  tempted  to  hide  their  light  when  letting  it  be 
seen  exposes  them  to  danger,  to  loss  of  name,  property, 
or  life.  It  is  easy  to  show  our  light  when  it  will  bring 
honour  and  profit  to  ourselves.  It  is  when  there  is 
neither  profit  nor  honour  going,  at  least  for  ourselves, 
that  we  are  sorely  tempted  to  suppress  conviction  and 

1  Mai.  i.  6. 


144  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

comply  tamely  with  evil  custom.  And  the  most  pow- 
erful aid  to  resistance  of  the  temptation  lies  in  the 
knowledge  that  in  yielding  to  it  we  miss  the  opportu- 
nity of  glorifjdng  our  Father  in  heaven.  For  the  fact 
is  even  so.  It  is  one  of  the  sure  laws  of  the  moral 
order  of  the  world  that  glorifying  God  and  self-glori- 
fication are  mutually  exclusive.  The  circumstances 
which  give  you  the  golden  opportunity  of  glorifying 
God  are  just  those  which  afford  the  least  chance  of 
obtaining  immediate  glory  and  advantage  to  yourself. 
Contrariwise,  when  you  are  pursuing  eagerly  your  own 
honour  and  interest  and  succeeding  very  well,  be  sure 
that  the  amount  of  honour  you  bring  to  God  is  very 
insignificant.  It  matters  not  that  your  work  is  within 
the  technically  religious  sphere,  and  that  you  pretend 
to  be  very  zealous  for  God's  glory. 

The  moral  heroes  of  human  histor}^  the  pioneers  of 
good  causes,  the  warriors  who  fight  a  good  light  for 
truth  and  justice,  risking  limb  and  life  in  the  battle, 
the  prophets,  the  martyrs,  the  confessors  :  —  these  are 
the  men  who  let  their  light  shine.  These  are  the  sons 
of  God.  These  are  the  glorifiers  of  the  Father's  name, 
and  in  these  the  Father  glories.  Such  are  the  men  the 
Teacher  on  the  Hill  has  in  view  throughout  His  dis- 
course :  the  men  who  have  been  persecuted  for  right- 
eousness sake  (v.  10),  the  companions  of  persecuted 
prophets  (v.  12),  the  men  who,  through  no  faults  of 
theirs,  have  enemies  to  love,  and  persecutors  to  pray 
for  (v.  44).  And  by  using  the  name  Father  for  God 
for  the  first  time  in  this  connection,  He  throws  an  im- 
portant light  on  the  nature  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood, 


YOUR    FATHER   WHO   IS    IN   HEAVEX  145 

thereby  teaching  that  God  delights  in  moral  heroes, 
and  regards  them  jpar  excellence  as  His  children. 

This  is  a  very  noteworthy  doctrine.  It  is,  e.g.^  far 
in  advance  of  that  taught  by  Jewish  doctors  of  the  law, 
who  set  forth  God  to  their  disciples  as  one  whose  ap- 
proval rested  on  those  who  studied  well,  and  carefully 
kept,  all  the  legal  traditions.  What  a  difference 
between  the  Father  God  of  Jesus  and  the  law-giving 
God  of  the  Rabbis  !  The  God  of  the  Rabbis  demands 
justice,  the  God  of  Jesus  delights  in  magnanimity  going 
far  beyond  what  can  be  legally  claimed.  The  model 
man  of  legalism  is  one  who  in  respect  of  the  command- 
ments great  and  small  (especially  the  small)  is  blame- 
less. The  model  man  of  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill  is 
one  who  not  only  lives  correctly,  but  is  ready  to  sac- 
rifice himself  for  the  good  of  others,  however  thank- 
less the  task.  Blessed  of  God,  said  the  Rabbi,  is  the 
faultless  man.  Blessed  of  the  Father  in  heaven  said 
Jesus,  is  the  self-sacrificing,  devoted,  heroic  man.  Note 
further  how  far  this  doctrine  rises  above  the  vulgar 
notion  that  God's  favour  is  revealed  by  outward  pros- 
perity. That  view  would  oblige  us  to  regard  the 
noblest  men  tliat  ever  lived,  the  sages,  prophets,  apos- 
tles, and  saviours  of  the  race,  as  men  accursed  of  God. 
Jesus  has  taught  us  a  worthier  way  of  thinking. 
"  These,"  He  says,  "  are  the  sons  of  God  in  whom  He 
delights.  A  curse  indeed  rests  on  their  life,  but  it  is 
the  curse,  not  of  God,  but  of  a  world  which  in  its  igno- 
rance and  wickedness  shuns  the  light  and  resents  all 
earnest  attempts  to  establish  the  reign  of  righteousness. 
This  curse  rests  on  my  own  life,  as  will  more  and  more 

L 


146  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

clearly  appear,  but  because  I  willingly  bear  it  for  the 
world's  good,  therefore  doth  my  Father  love  me  and 
account  me  His  well-beloved    Son." 

Passing  to  the  second  text  we  find  the  Fatherhood 
of  God  referred  to  in  it  as  a  motive  to  magnanimity . 
Here  again  the  motive  throws  light  on  the  name.  Our 
inference  is  that  magnanimity  is  a  characteristic  of 
God.  But  we  are  not  left  to  infer  this.  That  God 
deals  magnanimously  with  men  is  expressly  declared 
when  it  is  said  that  "  He  maketh  His  sun  rise  on  the 
evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and 
on  the  unjust."  This  magnanimity  is  an  essential 
feature  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood.  It  is  as  a  Father 
that  God  dispenses  benefits  to  good  and  evil  alike, 
treating  good  and  evil,  just  and  unjust,  as  His  children. 
It  is  fatherlike  thus  to  act.  Many  earthly  fathers, 
certainly  the  best  of  them,  so  deal  with  their  children. 
They  give  good  gifts  to  all  their  children,  not  merely 
to  the  more  exemplary  with  whom  they  are  well- 
pleased.  No  father  deals  with  his  children  on  the 
principle  of  strict  justice.  Every  good  father  does 
more  for  all  his  children  than  they  can  claim,  much 
more  than  unwortliy  children  deserve.  It  is  therefore 
only  in  accordance  with  analogy  that  the  Father  in 
heaven  should  so  act.  That  He  does  so  act  is  familiar 
to  us  all.  We  can  all  testify :  "  He  hath  not  dealt 
with  us  after  our  sins."  ^  The  least  worthy  have  the 
best  reason  to  know  this.  How  much  good  they  have 
received  ;  how  little  they  have  deserved  ! 

Thus  far  as  to  the  general  import  of  this  second 
1  Ps.  ciii.  10. 


YOUR  FATHER  WHO  IS  IN  HEAVEN      147 

saying  containing  the  name  "Father."  A  little  analy- 
sis may  help  us  to  a  clearer  view  of  its  full  significance. 
It  contains,  we  observe,  a  statement  of  fact  and  a  cer- 
tain construction  put  on  the  fact. 

The  fact  stated  is  that  to  a  large  extent  good  comes 
to  all,  irrespective  of  character.  Sun  and  shower  repre- 
sent that  common  good.  How  much  they  cover  ! 
From  sunshine  and  rain  duly  mixed,  come  good  crops, 
food  for  man  and  beast  in  abundance.  That  means 
general  well-being,  all  that  one  could  wish  for  a  com- 
munity in  the  way  of  material  prosperity. 

That  the  fact  is  as  Jesus  stated  it,  is  to  us  self-evident. 
But  it  was  by  no  means  a  matter  of  course  that  a  Jew- 
ish teacher  should  have  seen  the  fact  so  clearly  and 
stated  it  so  broadly.  The  tendency  of  the  Hebrew 
mind  was  to  think  differently,  and  to  regard  God  solely 
as  a  moral  Governor  rendering  to  every  man  according 
to  his  works.  For  men  holding  this  view  there  was 
a  strong  temptation  to  force  facts  to  square  with  the 
theory.  Strictly  carried  out,  that  would  mean  the  sun 
shining  only  on  the  good,  the  rain  falling  only  on  the 
just,  or  the  evil  and  unjust  getting  more  sunshine  and 
rain  than  is  meet,  bringing  dearths  and  deluges  to  pun- 
ish them  for  their  sins.  "  Who,"  asked  Eliphaz  boldly, 
"  who  ever  perished,  being  innocent,  or  when  were  the 
righteous  cut  off?  Even  as  I  have  seen,  they  that  plow 
iniquity  and  sow  wickedness,  reap  tlie  same."^  That 
was  the  old  theory  in  its  baldest  form.  The  hero  of 
the  poem  is  represented  as  doubting  its  truth.  "  Very 
natural,  very  desirable  perhaps,"  replied  he  in  effect, 
1  Job  iv.  7,  8. 


148  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

"  but  unhappily  the  facts  do  not  bear  your  theory  out." 
Jesus  is  on  the  side  of  Job.  He  breaks  with  the  tradi- 
tional theory,  and  He  does  so  because  He  has  discarded 
the  traditional  legal  conception  of  God  as  a  mere  Gov- 
ernor dealing  with  men  according  to  strict  justice. 
His  mind  was  not  dominated  by  current  opinions  or 
theories  however  venerable,  and  among  the  notions  He 
repudiated  was  this  one  that  good  or  ill  in  lot  is  a  sure 
index  of  good  or  ill  in  character.  He  saw  and  said 
that  this  view  was  contradicted  by  two  classes  of  facts: 
by  tribulations  endured  by  good  men  for  righteous- 
ness' sake  and  by  temporal  prosperity  enjoyed  by  many 
unworthy  men  not  less,  often  even  more,  than  by 
the  worthy.  The  statement  in  the  text  about  the  sun 
and  the  rain  is  therefore  not  to  be  taken  as  a  mere 
truism  which  any  one  might  have  spoken.  It  is  rather 
the  original  utterance  of  one  endowed  with  an  unbiassed 
mind,  a  clear  vision  and  an  unfettered  tongue  ;  who  saw 
things  as  they  were,  and  fearlessly  said  what  He  saw. 

Note  next  the  construction  put  upon  the  fact,  which 
is  even  more  characteristic.  The  fact  being  that  to  a 
large  extent  all  things  come  alike  to  all,  the  question 
naturally  obtrudes  itself,  what  is  the  meaning  of  it  ? 
Some  might  say:  that  there  is  no  real  Providence;  that 
all  things  happen  by  general  law  acting  without  design 
or  consciousness,  that  the  natural  order  of  the  universe 
is  perfectly  indifferent  to  moral  interests.  It  certainly 
seems  so,  insomuch  that  no  man  who  holds  this  view 
can  be  easily  argued  out  of  it  by  an  appeal  to  facts, 
though  there  are  facts  of  human  history  patent  to  a 
wide  observation  which  go  to  show  that  there  is  indeed 


YOUR   FATHER    WHO   IS    IN    HEAVEN  149 

a  Power  other  than  ourselves  in  the  workl  making  for 
righteousness.  But  besides  this  agnostic  construction 
there  is  another  which  may  be  put  on  the  facts,  one 
harmonising  with  a  firm  faith  in  the  living  God,  and 
in  an  intelligent  Providence.  We  may  see  in  the  uni- 
versal boons  of  sun  and  shower  the  magnanimity  of  a 
Father  treating  all  His  children  to  a  certain  extent 
alike. 

Such  was  Christ's  reading  of  the  facts.  As  to  the 
facts  themselves  He  is  at  one  with  the  unbeliever. 
The  difference  is  wholly  one  of  interpretation.  But 
how  wide  the  difference  there  !  In  the  same  facts  the 
agnostic  finds  no  God,  and  no  Providence,  while  Jesus 
finds  a  gracious  God,  and  a  benignant  magnanimous 
Providence.  Extremes  meet.  No  God,  or  the  highest 
kind  of  God,  a  Father  ;  no  Providence,  or  a  Providence 
good  to  all. 

These  two  sayings  of  Jesus  combined  give  a  balanced 
view  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood.  Each  is  complemen- 
tary of  the  other.  The  one  teaches  that  God  hath  a 
special  paternal  delight  in  the  morally  faithful,  the 
other  that  he  exercises  a  benignant  Providence  over 
all,  doing  good  even  to  the  morally  unfaithful,  His 
wayward  and  disobedient  children.  The  former  im- 
plies decided  moral  preference,  the  latter  a  sphere  of 
action  within  which  moral  distinctions  are  overlooked. 
Either  without  the  other  is  liable  to  run  into  excess. 
Moral  preference  tends  to  exclusiveness ;  universal  be- 
nevolence to  indifferentism.  Combine  the  two  and 
both  defects  are  eliminated.  Not  only  so,  the  two  con- 
trasted  qualities    interpenetrate  and   aid   each   other. 


150  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

God's  moral  preferences  lend  emphasis  to  His  magna- 
nimity, making  it  appear  a  thing  of  grace  and  not  a 
thing  of  course.  On  the  other  hand  the  Divine  magna- 
nimity viewed  as  unmerited  favour  is  seen  to  signify 
a  desire  that  the  unworthy  may  become  true  sons  of 
God,  objects  of  His  complacent  regard  ;  an  invitation 
to  those  who  are  in  the  outer  circle  of  sonship  to  press 
into  the  inner  circle. 

Most  of  the  other  texts  in  the  Sermon  containing 
the  title  "Father"  bear  on  two  topics:  simplicity  in 
religion,  and  freedom  from  care  on  the  part  of  those 
who  have  made  the  Kingdom  their  chief  end.  They 
occur  in  the  sixth  Chapter  of  Matthew.  Spurious 
religion  appears  invested  with  two  evil  qualities  :  os- 
tentation, the  vice  of  Pharisaism,  and  superstition,  the 
vice  of  heathenism.  The  religion  of  the  Pharisee,  as 
manifested  in  almsgiving,  praying  and  fasting,  is  in 
relation  to  men  a  display,  in  relation  to  God  a  form. 
The  religion  of  the  Pagan  has  for  its  root  unbelief  in 
the  good-will  of  the  gods,  fear.  Therefore  when  he 
prays  he  indulges  in  vain  repetition,  thinking  that  he 
shall  be  heard  for  his  much  speaking,  by  his  hattology 
compelling  his  god  to  lend  a  reluctant  ear.  The  cure 
for  both  vices  is  a  filial  conception  of  God  as  Father. 
So  Jesus  hints  to  His  disciples  by  the  frequent  intro- 
duction of  the  paternal  title  in  this  part  of  His  dis- 
course. And  on  reflection  we  perceive  the  truth  of  the 
doctrine.  The  relation  of  father  and  son,  like  all  inti- 
mate relations,  demands,  in  the  first  place,  sincere,  real 
affection.  Every  true  son  cares  more  for  the  esteem 
of  his  father  than  for  that  of  the  outside  world.     In 


YOUR    FATHER    WHO    IS    IN    HEAVEN  151 

the  sphere  of  religion  this  means  that  a  true  thought  of 
God  as  Father  gives  the  death  blow  to  religious  osten- 
tation. The  filial  worshipper  does  not  care  about  ap- 
pearing devout  to  men,  he  seeks  above  all  the  approval 
of  his  heavenly  Father.  Then  it  will  be  impossible  for 
him  to  mock  his  Father  by  a  formal  routine  service  in 
which  there  is  no  heart.  He  will  offer  always  a  wor- 
ship in  which  thought  and  feeling  find  utterance  :  an 
eloquent  worship,  because  therein  all  that  is  within  him 
speaks. 

Faith  in  the  Divine  Father  is  the  cure  for  every- 
thing savouring  of  Pagan  superstition  in  religion,  not 
less  than  for  Pharisaic  ostentation  and  formalism. 
Who  can  indulge  in  vain  repetition  in  prayer  who 
believes  in  a  Father's  willing  ear?  More  generally, 
what  place  for  elaborate  ritual  of  any  sort  in  a  religion 
which  has  for  its  object  of  worship  a  Father  ?  Simplic- 
ity is  congenial  to  the  filial  spirit.  And  by  using  the 
name  Father  in  connection  with  the  inculcation  of  sim- 
plicity in  prayer,  Jesus  would  have  His  disciples  under- 
stand that  God  loves  simplicity.  Such  love  pertains 
to  the  paternal  relation.  There  is  a  place  for  ceremo- 
nial in  the  public  functions  of  a  King,  but  in  the  bosom 
of  his  own  family  the  most  august  monarch  gladly 
makes  his  escape  from  pomp  and  state.  In  this  con- 
nection we  perceive  the  significance  of  another  Father- 
saying  not  contained  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  but 
kindred  in  spirit  to  those  now  under  consideration. 
"Every  plant  which  my  heavenly  Father  hath  not 
planted  shall  be  rooted  up."  ^  The  particular  plant 
1  Matt.  XV.  13. 


152  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

referred  to  was  the  tradition  of  the  elders  respecting 
ceremonial  ablutions.  The  implied  doctrine  is  that  a 
Father  God  could  have  no  hand  in  planting  such  an 
institution.  His  characteristic  function  rather  is  to 
eradicate  everything  of  the  kind  which  strikes  its  roots 
into  the  soil  of  man's  religious  nature.  And  the 
effectual  uprooter  is  just  the  new  way  of  thinking 
concerning  God  as  Father.  That  was  one  of  Christ's 
reasons  for  giving  the  new  name  so  prominent  a  place 
in  His  religious  vocabulary.  He  believed  that  just  in 
proportion  as  His  disciples  got  accustomed  to  a  filial 
mode  of  conceiving  God,  would  Rabbinical  and  even 
Levitical  ritual  lose  its  hold  on  their  minds,  and  leave 
them  free  to  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
Would  that  the  Church  in  all  ages  had  been  more 
abundantly  baptized  into  the  new  Divine  name  ! 
Then  the  portent  of  Sacramentarianism  with  all  that 
goes  along  with  it  had  never  made  its  appearance  in 
Christendom.  For  that  also  is  a  plant  which  our 
heavenly  Father  hath  not  planted. 

"  Care  not,  your  Father  cares  for  you,"  said  Jesus  in 
effect  to  His  disciples  in  that  part  of  His  discourse 
which  is  directed  against  earthly  anxieties.^  It  is 
assumed  that  those  who  are  thus  admonished  are  mak- 
ing the  Kingdom  of  God  their  chief  end,  and  the  aim 
is  to  set  them  free  from  distraction  arising  out  of  con- 
cern about  food  and  raiment.  The  appositeness  of  the 
title  "Father"  applied  to  God  in  this  connection  is  ob- 
vious. It  is  a  father's  part  to  provide  for  his  children. 
By  calling  God  Father  in  an  exhortation  against  care, 
1  Matt.  vi.  25-34. 


YOUR    FATHER    WHO    IS    IN    HEAVEN  153 

Jesus  in  effect  teaches  that  God's  Fatherliness  includes 
providence  among  its  attributes  and  functions.  And  if 
disciples  but  thoroughly  believed  this,  it  Avould  cer- 
tainly transport  them  into  that  care-free  region  of 
feeling  in  which  their  Master  desired  them  to  dwell. 
He  lived  habitually  up  there  Himself,  without  effort 
because  He  had  an  undoubting  faith  in  a  Paternal 
Providence  which  with  unsleeping  solicitude  looked 
after  the  interests  of  those  who  with  singleness  of  heart 
gave  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  Kingdom  How 
perfect  was  the  peace  that  through  this  faith  reigned  in 
His  bosom,  this  very  admonition  against  care  suffices  to 
show.  What  divine  serenity  it  breathes!  And  what 
simple  delight  in  the  world  of  nature  finds  expression 
in  it!  The  careworn  are  so  moody  and  gloomy  that 
they  have  no  eye  for  the  wild  flowers,  and  no  ear  for 
the  song  of  birds,  or  for  the  music  of  rippling  brooks  or 
autumn  winds.  But  Jesus  had  an  eye  and  an  ear  for 
all  sights  and  sounds  of  nature.  "  I  say  unto  you  that 
even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one 
of  these."  Enquire  not  curiously  of  what  flower  He 
spoke,  as  if  it  must  needs  have  been  some  exceptionally 
lovely  flower  of  gorgeous  hue  that  called  forth  such  an 
encomium.  Jesus,  I  believe,  would  have  said  the  same 
thing  about  the  simplest  wild  flower  that  grows  in  the 
meadow  or  by  the  wayside  :  the  snowdrop,  the  prim- 
rose, or  the  daisy. 

The  peace  Jesus  Himself  enjoyed  He  desired  His 
disciples  to  attain,  and  for  that  end  He  plied  them  with 
arguments  fitted  to  aid  weak  faith.  Noteworthy  are 
two  drawn  from  human  experience  and  put  in  the  form 


154  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

of  questions :  "  Is  not  the  life  more  than  meat  ? " 
and  "  which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add  one  cubit 
unto  his  stature  ?  "  Both  questions  suggest  an  argu- 
ment from  what  God  has  done  to  what  He  may  be  ex- 
pected to  do.  What  He  has  done  is  in  both  instances 
the  greater  thing,  Mdiat  He  has  yet  to  do  the  less.  God 
has  given  to  all  life^  a  greater  thing  than  the  means  of 
life,  food,  and  raiment.  The  argument  is  :  if  God  has 
already  bestowed  on  us  the  greater  boon,  why  doubt  as 
to  His  continuing  to  give  us  the  less,  —  the  means  of 
sustaining  that  life  He  has  conferred  on  all  as  an  un- 
sought blessing  ?  The  point  of  the  second  question  is 
not  so  obvious.  It  seems  to  hint  at  a  form  of  anxiety 
which  no  human  being  ever  was  absurd  enough  to 
cherish.  Who  ever  thought  of  adding  to  his  stature 
one  cubit  ?  Pressed  by  the  surface  difficulty  many 
recent  commentators  have  adopted  the  view  that  the 
question  refers,  not  to  increase  of  bodily  stature,  but  to 
lengthening  of  life.  The  use  of  measures  of  length  in 
space  as  symbols  of  length  in  time  is  not  unexampled 
in  Scripture.  We  have  an  instance  of  it  in  Psalm 
xxxix.  5,  where,  speaking  of  the  brevity  of  life,  the 
Psalmist  says:  "  Behold  thou  hast  made  my  days  as  an 
handbreadth."'  It  is  therefore  quite  conceivable  that 
our  Lord  asked  anxious-minded  persons  :  "  Which  of 
you  by  any  amount  of  care  can  add  to  his  days  a  period 
of  time  corresponding  in  length  to  a  cubit  ?  "  It  would 
have  been  a  very  pertinent  question,  for  the  tendency 
of  care  is  not  to  lengthen  our  days  but  rather  to  shorten 
them.  Yet  I  am  persuaded  that  this  was  not  the 
thought  Jesus  meant  to  convey.     His  question  refers  to 


YOUR  FATHER  WHO  IS  IN  HEAVEN      155 

stature,  and  its  aim  is  to  remind  the  anxious  that  God 
has  done  for  every  man  arrived  at  maturity  what  no 
man  by  any  amount  of  thinking  or  wishing  can  do  for 
himself.  Every  grown  man  is  more  than  a  cubit  taller 
than  he  was  as  a  child.  The  addition  to  his  stature  is 
the  effect  of  a  gradual  growth  going  on  insensibly  for 
years.  How  unobtrusively  the  marvellous  result  was 
achieved,  the  process  incessantly  going  on,  but  from 
day  to  day  unobservable,  perceptible  only  after  the 
lapse  of  large  intervals  of  time.  The  boy  measures 
himself  against  the  wall  to-day,  and  this  time  next  year 
he  will  repeat  the  process  and  find  to  his  delight  that 
he  has  grown  one  or  two  inches.  But  he  had  no  hand 
in  producing  that  growth,  save  by  taking  the  food  pro- 
vided for  him  by  his  parents  and  indulging  with  boyish 
glee  in  the  sports  which  promote  growth,  but  have  not 
growth  for  their  conscious  aim.  The  cubit  is  added  in 
the  care-free  time  of  life.  The  boy  sports  and  grows 
and  reaches  manhood  with  one  cubit  or  two  or  even 
three  added  to  his  stature,  not  by  him  but  by  the  laws 
of  nature,  or  as  Christ  would  have  said  by  the  kindness 
of  His  heavenly  Father.  And  Christ's  argument  is  : 
"  If  God  has  done  that  greater  thing  for  you,  rearing 
you  from  infancy  to  the  stature  of  manhood,  providing 
all  the  time  the  food  necessary  for  growth,  why  doubt 
His  readiness  and  power  to  find  for  you  the  needful 
sustenance  now  ?  You  did  well  by  God's  help  when 
you  were  boys  and  girls,  undistracted  by  care.  Why 
not  carry  a  little  of  the  spirit  of  boyhood  into  your 
mature  life,  and,  if  possible,  remain  young-hearted  all 
your  days  ?  " 


156  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

We  have  now  learned  these  four  things  regarding  the 
Divine  Fatherhood  as  defined  by  discriminating  use  in 
the  hill  teaching  of  our  Lord  :  It  implies  delight  in  the 
noble  conduct  of  heroic  men  ;  magnanimous  treatment 
of  the  unworthy  ;  intimate  relations  between  God  and 
men  demanding  from  tlie  latter  sincere,  simple-hearted 
religious  affections  ;  and  effective  provision  for  the 
temporal  wants  of  all  who  devote  themselves  to  the 
higher  concerns  of  life.  This  is  much,  but  it  is  not 
all.  We  miss  a  cheering  word  about  the  pardon  of 
sin  and  aid  in  the  fight  with  evil.  The  magnanimity 
ascribed  to  the  Divine  Father  might  indeed  be  held  to 
cover  these  needs,  and  it  does  inferentially  ;  yet  the 
express  reference  of  that  attribute,  as  spoken  of  in  the 
Sermon,  is  to  the  sunshine  and  the  showers.  Inference 
in  connection  with  such  vital  matters  is  not  enough ; 
we  need  positive  assurance.  And  we  have  it  in  two 
petitions  of  the  Pater  Nbster  :  "  Forgive  us  our  debts," 
"  Deliver  us  from  evil."  By  putting  these  petitions 
into  the  mouths  of  disciples,  in  a  prayer  addressed 
to  the  Father  in  heaven,  Jesus  gave  them  to  under- 
stand that  pardon  of  their  moral  shortcomings  and 
power  to  live  well  were  boons  to  be  confidently  expected 
from  one  standing  to  them  in  the  relation  of  Fatlier. 
His  doctrine  at  this  point  also  is  congruous  to  the 
nature  of  Fatherhood.  Every  true  father  forgives  his 
children,  not  once,  but  many  times.  He  deals  not  with 
them  after  their  sins.  He  also  gives  them  all  the  aid  he 
can  to  do  what  is  right  ;  by  prayer,  wise  counsel,  and 
good  example  striving  to  keep  their  feet  from  evil  Avays. 
If  God  be  indeed  a  father,  He  may  be  expected  to  do 


YOUR   FATHER    WHO    IS    IN    HEAVEN  157 

(likewise  :  not  coming  behind  good  earthly  fathers, 
rather  doing  more  for  His  erring  children  than  an 
earthly  parent  has  either  the  will  or  the  power  to  do. 
A  father  on  earth  must  sometimes  stop  short  at  mere 
desire.  He  cannot  give  his  child  a  good  spirit,  or  a 
holy  bias,  or  write  the  law  of  duty  on  his  heart.  But 
the  Divine  Father  is  both  able  and  willing.  Often 
earthly  fathers  are  lacking  even  in  respect  of  good-will. 
How  many  of  them  readily  conclude  that  the  waywardness 
of  a  disobedient  son  has  exceeded  the  limits  of  the  for- 
givable, and  harden  their  hearts  against  him  ?  He  is  a 
rare  father,  of  phenomenally  tender  heart,  who  can  fitly 
represent  in  his  parental  conduct  the  mercy  of  God. 
Jesus  has  drawn  his  picture  in  the  parable  of  the  Prodi- 
gal Son.  Why  does  that  picture  affect  us  so  power- 
fully ?  Because  it  tells  us  fathers  what  we  ought  to 
be,  but  are  not.  It  is  a  poetic  ideal,  far  transcending 
the  reality  of  ordinary  family  life.  Jesus  drew  that  pa- 
thetic picture  that  we  might  know  that  what  for  many 
of  us  is  merely  ideal  is  real  for  God.  "  God,"  He  would 
teach,  "  behaves  so  towards  His  returning  prodigal  chil- 
dren. Judge  Him  not  by  yourselves.  His  ways  are 
not  your  ways."  In  that  beautiful  parable,  the  doctrine 
of  Jesus  concerning  the  Fatherhood  of  God  in  the  moral 
sphere  reaches  its  climax.  It  is  the  best  concrete  com- 
mentary on  the  abstract  general  petition  :  "  Forgive  us 
our  debts. "  Who  without  such  a  pictorial  representation 
of  Divine  forgiveness  would  have  the  courage  to  think 
that  even  God  could  pardon  in  that  magnificent  way  ? 

And  yet  there  is  greater  magnificence  behind  all  that. 
Nothinsr  more  generous  and  handsome  can  be  conceived 


158  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

than  the  reception  given  by  the  father  to  the  prodigal 
on  his  arrival.  But  what  if  he  had  gone  in  quest  of  the 
wanderer  as  the  shepherd  went  in  quest  of  the  straying 
sheep,  enduring  the  hardships  of  the  long  way,  and  the 
miseries  of  the  famine-stricken  land,  and,  finding  the  lost 
one  there,  had  claimed  him  as  his  son,  and  by  moving 
entreaties  induced  him  to  return  home  ?  That  would 
have  been  a  deeper  depth  of  pity,  and  a  pardon  costing 
the  pardoner  more.  It  is  no  fault  of  the  parable  that  it 
leaves  this  phase  of  fatherly  love  out  of  the  picture. 
Room  had  to  be  made  for  the  free-play  of  penitence,  the 
lost  one  in  this  case  being  not  a  sheep  but  a  man.  For 
in  the  human  sphere  finding  means  self -finding,  —  com- 
ing to  oneself  in  contrite  reflection.  But  the  seeking  and 
the  suffering  connected  therewith  have  their  place  here 
also.  The  Son  of  man  came  to  seek  the  lost.  In  Him, 
if  He  be  Divine,  the  Father  came  to  seek  the  lost.  Fatri- 
passianism  is  not  wholly  a  heresy. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE   WOKTH   OF   MAN 

Jesus  believed  in  tlie  absolute  infinite  worth  of  man 
taken  even  at  the  lowest  and  meanest.  But  He  did  not 
express  His  faith  in  pliilosophical  terms  like  infinite  and 
absolute.  He  used  the  method  of  comparison.  Once 
He  employed  a  comparison  which  adequately  embodied 
His  idea:  "  What  is  a  man  profited  if  he  shall  gain  the 
whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul.  Or  what  shall  a 
man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul  ?  "  ^  "  Christ's  maxim 
is:  one  soul  outweighs  the  world."  But  usually  He 
dealt  in  comparisons  which  seem  utterly  inadequate, 
as  when  in  the  admonition  against  care  He  asked 
anxious  disciples :  "  Are  ye  not  much  better  than 
they?  "  i.e.,  than  the  fowls  of  the  air.^  Similarly  in  a 
discourse  on  apostolic  tribulations,  to  keep  the  Twelve 
in  good  heart.  He  said:  "Fear  ye  not  therefore,  ye  are 
of  more  value  than  many  sparrows."^  Comparisons  at 
the  best  can  never  express  absolute  truth.  To  say  that 
one  thing  is  better  than  another,  however  good  the  lat- 
ter may  be,  does  not  amount  to  saying  that  it  is  the  best 
possible.      But  when  the  object  whose  value  is  being 

1  Matt.  xvi.  26.  2  Matt.  vi.  26.  a  Matt.  x.  31. 

159 


160  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

estimated  is  compared  with  something  of  recognised 
standard  worth,  "better"  practically  means  "best." 
So  for  example  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  There 
also  the  method  of  comparison  is  used  to  set  forth  the 
excellence  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  writer's 
position  really  is  :  Christianity  the  best  possible  relig- 
ion, the  absolutely  perfect,  therefore  the  final  form,  of 
man's  relation  with  God.  But  he  puts  that  position 
in  this  way:  Christianity  better  than  the  Old-Testa- 
ment religion  with  all  its  agents  and  agencies  of  revela- 
tion and  redemption.  Practically  it  amounted  to  the 
same  thing,  because  for  the  Hebrew  Christians,  for  whose 
benefit  the  comparison  was  made,  the  ancient  religion  of 
the  Jewish  people,  with  its  Moses  and  Aaron  and  Le- 
vitical  rites,  was  a  sacred  divine  institution.  But  "  of 
more  value  than  many  sparrows,"  which  have  almost  no 
worth  at  all,  —  that  is  surely  not  saying  much !  Yet  in 
the  very  inadequacy  of  the  comparison  lies  its  pathos 
and  its  power  as  addressed  to  men  who  have  a  depress- 
ing sense  of  their  own  insignificance.  Persons  in  this 
state  of  mind  need  such  humble  estimates  to  help  them 
to  rise  to  higher  faith  and  bolder  self-respect,  and  the 
use  of  them  by  Jesus  is  signal  proof  of  His  deep  sym- 
pathy, as  of  His  poetic  tact  and  felicity.  I  value  greatly 
these  simple  naive  questions  of  Jesus  preserved  for  us 
in  the  synoptic  gospels,  as  a  contribution  to  His  doctrine 
of  man.  There  is  nothing  like  them  elsewhere  in  the 
New  Testament ;  nothing  so  expressive  and  impressive, 
so  suggestive,  so  humanely  sympathetic,  so  quietly  yet 
severely  condemnatory  of  all  low  unloving  estimates  of 
human  worth.     Compare  with  these  questions  of  Jesus 


THE   WORTH    OF   MAN  161 

St.  Paul's  :  "  Doth  God  take  care  for  oxen  ?  "  ^  Jesus 
could  not  have  asked  that  question  with  an  implied 
negative  in  His  mind.  His  doctrine  was:  "God  does 
take  care  even  for  oxen,  but  for  men  more." 

These  simple  kindly  comparisons  by  which  our  Lord 
sought  to  indoctrinate  His  disciples  in  the  worth  of 
man  to  God  suggest  more  than  they  say,  and  provoke 
far-reaching  reflections.  Better  than  sparrows,  than 
all  fowls  of  the  air,  than  a  sheep,^  or  an  ox.^  How? 
Not  in  all  respects.  Man  cannot  fly  like  the  birds,  or 
sing  like  the  lark,  or  furnish  material  that  can  be  manu- 
factured into  cloth  like  the  sheep,  or  bear  heavy  burdens 
like  the  ox.  The  ground  of  his  superiority  is  not  physi- 
cal but  spiritual.  He  can  think  and  love,  and  act  with 
freedom.  In  these  respects  he  is  unique,  simply  incom- 
parable with  "birds  and  fourfooted  beasts,"  and  not 
merely  with  them,  but  with  the  entire  subrational 
universe.  The  principle  involved  in  our  Lord's 
question:  "  Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they  "  is  that 
man,  as  a  rational  being  and  moral  personality,  is  of 
more  value  than  the  whole  inanimate  and  lower  ani- 
mate world.  This  is  an  essential  principle  in  the 
Christian  theory  of  the  universe.  And  it  is  a  principle 
which  the  most  recent  science  amjDly  justifies.  The 
evolutionary  conception  of  the  process  by  which  the 
world  as  it  now  is  came  into  being,  places  man  at  the 
head  of  the  creation.  It  assigns  him  this  position  just 
in  proportion  as  it  brings  his  whole  nature,  on  its 
spiritual  not  less  than  on  its  physical  side,  within  the 
scope  of  evolutionary  law.  When  the  scientist  says  : 
1  1  Cor.  ix.  10.  2  j^att.  xii.  12.  3  i„^.g  xiv.  5. 


162  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

Man  in  his  intellect  and  in  his  moral  nature,  as  well  as 
in  his  body,  has  been  evolved,  he  declares  in  effect  that 
man  in  his  composite  being  is  the  crown  and  climax  of 
the  grand  movement  by  which  the  present  universe, 
with  its  endless  variety  of  existences,  has  slowly 
emerged  out  of  the  primitive  chaos  of  homogeneous 
matter.  That  being  so,  it  follows  of  necessity  that  man 
is  a  being  of  unique  significance.  He  is  the  key  to  the 
meaning"  of  the  universe  and  to  the  nature  of  its  Maker. 
He  is  the  end  the  Creator  had  in  view  in  making  the 
world.  Till  man  arrives  on  the  scene,  one  feels  tempted 
to  ask:  To  what  purpose  these  stars,  mountains,  rocks, 
rivers,  plains,  and  plants  and  animals  of  all  sorts  and 
sizes?  When  he  makes  his  appearance,  one  begins  to 
see  that  it  was  worth  while  to  make  a  world.  And  one 
also  begins  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  ]Maker.  He 
is,  we  see,  one  who  has  been  working  all  through  the 
ages  towards  the  production  of  rational  and  moral 
beings.  And  hence  we  infer  that  He  is  Himself 
rational  and  moral.  And  as  the  ]\Iaker  of  the  world 
had  man  in  view  as  the  raison  d'etre  of  world-making,  it 
stands  to  reason  that  He  will  care  for  man  after  He  has 
in  the  fulness  of  the  time  brought  him  into  existence. 
He  will  see  to  it  that  all  the  rational  and  moral  possibili- 
ties of  this  new  type  of  being  shall  be  realised,  and  will 
make  all  nature's  laws  and  all  events  co-operate  towards 
this  end.  In  other  words,  A  Kingdom  of  God,  with 
good  men  for  its  citizens,  will  be  God's  own  chief  end, 
directing  and  controlling  the  whole  course  of  His  prov- 
idence. 

This  is  a  great  bold  thought  wliich  the  hand  of  even 


THE    WORTH    OF    MAX  163 

strong  faith  cannot  at  first  grasp  without  trembling. 
Yet  it  is  easier  to  believe  that  God  thinks  thus  highly  of 
man  than  for  man  himself  to  cherish  such  thoughts 
of  his  kind.  Rather  I  should  say  that  the  main  cause 
of  unbelief  in  God's  care  for  man  is  the  low  estimate 
men  form  of  human  nature  in  themselves  and  in  others. 
Contempt  of  the  human,  whencesoever  arising,  is  a  fruit- 
ful cause  of  practical  Atheism.  Who  can  believe  that 
God  careth  for  men,  who  does  not  himself  believe  that  a 
man  is  better  than  a  sheep  ?  And  who  are  they  who  are 
guilty  of  scepticism  so  radical  ?  Well,  various  sorts  of 
people.  Philosophers,  e.g.^  like  Celsus,  who  deliberately 
maintained  that  man  is  no  better  than  a  beast,  and  that 
he  is  surpassed  by  some  animals  even  in  respect  of 
morality  and  religion.  Commercial  men,  also,  who 
measure  the  worth  of  all  things  by  their  value  as  prop- 
erty. My  sheep  belongs  to  me,  and  I  can  sell  it  for  so 
much,  but  that  drunken  good-for-nothing,  what  have  I 
to  do  with  him  ?  He  is  not  my  slave,  and  even  if  he 
were,  nobody  would  buy  him.  Even  religious  men 
have  needed  to  be  reminded  of  the  worth  of  man  as 
man.  How  much  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep  ?  was 
a  question  addressed  by  our  Lord  to  Pharisees.  They 
really  did  not  believe  anything  of  the  kind.  They  liad 
got  into  a  way  of  setting  the  human  and  the  divine  in 
antagonism.  They  made  man  the  slave  of  the  sabbath 
law  in  zeal  for  the  supposed  honour  of  the  Divine  Law- 
giver. A  sheep  was  a  creature  to  be  envied  by  com- 
parison, as  in  virtue  of  its  very  irrationality  lying 
outside  the  scope  of  the  vexatious  statute.  For  an 
analogous  reason,  they  would  not  feel  the  force  of  the 


164  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

parable  of  the  Lost  Sheep.  Yes,  they  would  say  within 
themselves,  we  can  understand  a  shepherd  going  after 
a  strayed  sheep  and  rejoicing  when  he  found  it.  It 
belonged  to  him,  and  moreover  it  was  blameless.  But 
these  publicans  and  sinners  belong  neither  to  you  nor 
to  us,  and  if  the}'  are  lost  it  is  their  own  fault,  let  them 
take  the  consequences. 

In  view  of  this  inhuman  type  of  religion  then  preva- 
lent in  Palestine,  one  can  appreciate  the  startling  sig- 
nificance of  Christ's  own  bearing  towards  the  neglected 
classes.  It  was  nothing  short  of  revolutionary.  It 
would  stimulate  thought  on  the  question  :  What  is  the 
worth  of  man  even  at  the  worst,  far  more  powerfully 
than  any  number  of  mild  suggestions  as  to  man  being 
better  than  this  or  that  member  of  the  lower  animal 
creation.  These  might  provoke  from  unsympathetic 
hearers  a  sceptical  smile,  but  the  mission  to  the  out- 
casts of  Capernaum  provoked  indignation,  as  against  one 
who  had  committed  a  wanton  outrage  on  the  moral 
feelings  of  a  God-fearing  community.  "  Think  of  such 
scandalous  people  being  treated  even  as  fellow-??it'n,  not 
to  say  as  comrades,  admitted  to  social  privilege  on  equal 
terms!  "  The  rude  shock  to  the  sense  of  propriety  is  the 
measure  of  the  innovation  inaugurated,  and  of  the 
extent  to  which  the  contemporary  Avorld  needed  educa- 
tion in  the  elementary  rights  and  claims  of  man.  As 
the  teacher  of  a  new  doctrine  on  this  subject,  Jesus 
could  not  get  past  that  Capernaum  mission  and  all  that 
went  along  with  it.  The  holy  rage  of  religionists  was 
no  doubt  a  regrettable  circumstance,  but  unfortunately 
radical  reforms  cannot  be  brouu'ht  about   in   this  world 


THE    WORTH    OP    MAN  165 

without  rude  initial  shocks  to  prejudice.  "  Woe  unto 
the  world  because  of  offences,"  ^  but  blessing  also  comes 
through  them.  Outrage  to  rooted  caste  pride  first,  and 
it  may  be  fierce  war  in  defence  of  cherished  prerogative  ; 
then  ultimate  acceptance  of  a  beneficent  moral  axiom 
which  to  disinterested  wise  humane  men  was  self- 
evident  from  the  first.  Thank  God  for  the  men  who 
bring  this  kind  of  offences.  They  are  the  world's 
benefactors  and  saviours,  at  a  great  cost  to  themselves. 
For  woe  is  to  that  man  by  whom  even  the  beneficent 
offence  cometh.  The  Avorld  calls  him  evil  names,  and  is 
not  content  till  it  has  got  rid  of  him.  But  he  leaves 
his  blessing  behind  him  in  the  form  of  a  truth  that  up- 
sets partition  walls,  fills  up  gulfs  of  social  cleavage, 
banishes  the  kingdoms  of  the  wild  beast  type  and 
ushers  in  the  Kingdom  of  the  human. 

So  did  Jesus  Christ  teach  His  new  doctrine  concern- 
ing the  worth  of  man  by  quaint  pathetic  comparisons, 
and  by  aggressive  action  which  compelled  all  to  take 
note  that  in  His  judgment  a  man  was  a  man,  even 
though  a  publican  and  a  "sinner."  He  crowned  the 
doctrine  by  the  name  He  assumed  for  Himself  :  Son  of 
man.  This  name  Jesus  nowhere  formally  defines,  any 
more  than  He  defines  the  name  He  gave  to  God.  In 
this  case,  as  in  that,  He  defines  only  by  discrindnating 
use.  We  must  listen  attentively  as  He  calls  Himself 
Son  of  man.,  and  strive  to  catch  the  sense  of  the  title 
from  the  tone  and  accent  of  the  Speaker.  To  do  this 
successfully  needs  a  sensitive  sympathetic  ear,  unfilled 
with  other  sounds  that  blunt  its  perceptive  faculty. 
1  Matt,  xviii.  7. 


166  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

Lacking  such  an  ear,  men  may  get  very  false  impres- 
sions, and  read  all  sorts  of  meanings  into  the  simple 
phrase,  collected  perhaps  from  Old  Testament  texts,  or 
suggested  by  systems  of  theology.  To  my  ear  the 
title  speaks  of  one  who  is  sympathetic  and  unpreten- 
tious ;  loves  men  and  advances  no  ambitious  claims. 
He  may  be  great,  so  to  speak,  in  spite  of  Himself,  by 
gifts  and  graces  even  unique^  but  these  must  speak  for 
themselves.  He  will  not  take  pains  to  point  them  out, 
or  advertise  His  importance  as  their  possessor.  The 
Son  of  man  wears  no  grand  airs,  but  is  meek  and  lowly. 
He  is  simply  the  31an,  the  brother  of  men ;  loving 
humanity  with  a  passionate  love  which  fits  Him  to  be 
the  world's  Clirist,  but  His  personal  attitude  is  that 
of  one  who  says  :  "  Discover  what  is  deepest  in  me, 
and  draw  your  own  inference." 

Specially  instructive  is  the  earliest  instance  of  the 
use  of  this  title  by  our  Lord,  occurring  in  the  First 
Gospel.  INIatthew  introduces  it  for  the  first  time  in 
connection  with  the  offer  of  a  scribe  to  become  a 
disciple.  1  The  incident  is  recorded  both  by  INIatthew 
and  by  Luke,^  but  in  neither  Gospel  is  there  any  clear 
indication  of  its  true  historical  setting.  We  may 
assume  that  it  happened  after  the  attitude  of  the  class 
to  which  the  aspirant  belonged,  towards  Jesus,  had 
been  made  manifest,  and  that  the  reception  given  to 
the  would-be  disciple  was  influenced  by  Christ's  prac- 
tical acquaintance  with  that  class.  Were  we  to  take 
as  our  guide  Luke,  who  introduces  the  aspirant  simply 
as  a  certain  person,  we  should  of  course  lay  no  stress 
1  Matt.  viii.  19,  20.  -  Luke  ix.  57,  58. 


THE   WORTH   OF    MAN  167 

on  the  indication  of  liis  profession  given  in  the  narra- 
tive of  Matthew.  But  that  a  scribe  should  offer  to 
become  a  disciple  was  so  unlikely,  that  no  reason  can 
be  assigned  for  its  place  in  the  tradition,  save  that  it 
was  a  fact.  And  just  because  it  was  unlikely,  we  are 
entitled  to  treat  the  fact  as  important,  and  to  interpret 
in  the  light  of  it  both  the  name  Jesus  gave  Himself, 
and  the  repellent  word  He  addressed  to  the  candidate 
for  discipleship. 

Taking  the  latter  first,  when  we  remember  to  whom 
Jesus  is  speaking  it  becomes  probable  that  the  saying  : 
"  Foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  lodorincf- 
places,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His 
head  "  is  to  be  taken  parabolically.  That  is  to  say,  it 
refers  to  Christ's  spiritual  situation  as  one  who  has  no 
home  for  His  soul  in  the  religion  of  the  time,  rather 
than  to  His  physical  condition,  as  one  at  the  moment 
without  any  certain  dwelling-place.  Though  this  view 
suggested  itself  to  my  mind  only  recently,  I  confess 
that  I  have  always  felt  a  certain  measure  of  dissatis- 
faction with  the  current  conception  of  our  Lord's  mean- 
ing. I  have  never  been  able  to  see  any  special  aptitude 
of  the  saying,  so  understood,  to  the  case  of  the  person 
addressed,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  get  rid  of  the  feeling 
that  the  word  taken  in  the  literal  sense  is  not  Avithout 
a  certain  tone  of  exaggerated  sentiment,  according  ill 
with  the  known  character  of  Jesus.  There  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  any  great  hardship  in  the  physical 
aspect  of  the  life  of  our  Lord  and  His  disciples,  such 
as  might  scare  away  any  one  the  least  inclined  to  disciple 
life.     And  suppose  this  aspirant  had  been  admitted  to 


168  WITH    OPEX   FACE 

the  ranks  of  discipleship,  would  he  not  have  been  one 
more  added  to  the  number  of  followers  possessing 
means  sufficient  to  make  the  daily  life  of  the  Jesus- 
circle  not  without  a  due  measure  of  comfort. ^  On 
these  grounds  the  suggestion  that  the  saying  about  the 
foxes  and  the  birds  is  to  be  interpreted  parabolically 
came  to  my  mind  as  a  relief.  Looked  at  in  this  light  it 
is  seen  to  be  at  once  very  true,  and  very  apposite.  How 
thoroughly  true  that  Jesus  was  spiritually  an  alien, 
without  a  home  in  the  religion  of  the  time  !  llecall  all 
that  quite  probably  had  happened  before  this  incident 
took  place  :  the  charge  of  blasphemy  in  connection 
with  the  healing  of  the  palsied  man,  the  offence  taken 
at  the  festive  meeting  with  the  publicans,  and  the 
scandalous  charges  that  grew  out  of  that  event,  the 
numerous  conflicts  respecting  Sabbath  keeping,  fasting, 
ritual  ablutions,  and  the  like,  the  infamous  suggestion 
that  the  cure  of  demoniacs  was  wrought  by  the  aid  of 
Beelzebub,  and  so  on.  If  the  whole,  or  even  a  part  of 
these  experiences  lay  behind  Him  when  he  uttered  this 
word,  with  what  truth  and  pathos  Jesus  might  say  : 
The  foxes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  are  better  off  than  I 
am,  so  far  as  a  home  for  the  soul  is  concerned.  Then 
with  what  point  and  pungency  He  might  say  this  to  a 
scribe  !  For  was  it  not  the  class  the  aspirant  belonged 
to  that  made  Him  homeless  ?  Whether  viewed  as  an 
excuse  for  reluctance  to  receive  him  as  a  disciple,  or  as 
a   summons  to   deliberate    consideration  of   what  was 

1  Vide  Luke  viii.  1-3,  which  Wendt  regards  as  a  kind  of  introduc- 
tion to  the  passage  about  the  three  aspirants,  Luke  ix.  57-62,  as  it 
stood  in  the  book  of  Logia. 


THE   WORTH   OF   MAN  169 

involved  in  the  step  he  was  proposing  to  take,  the 
word  was  altogether  seasonable.  In  the  one  case  it 
meant  :  You  need  not  wonder  if  I  give  not  a  prompt 
warm  welcome  to  you^  remembering  all  that  has  passed 
between  me  and  the  class  you  belong  to.  In  the  other 
case  it  means  :  consider  how  it  is  with  me  ;  I  am  a 
religious  outlaw,  suspected,  hated,  a  fugitive  from 
those  who  seek  my  life.  Are  you  really  able  to  break 
with  your  class  in  opinion,  feeling,  and  interest,  and  to 
bear  the  obloquy  and  ill-will  that  will  inevitably  come 
upon  you  as  my  disciple  ? 

Let  us  turn  now  to  this  title  "  Son  of  man,"  which 
we  meet  with  here  for  the  first  time  in  Matthew's 
Gospel,  and  enquire  what  view  of  its  import  is  most 
naturally  suggested  by  the  situation  of  Jesus  as  para- 
bolically  described,  and  by  the  religious  connections  of 
the  party  addressed.  We  may  assume  that,  as  in  all 
cases  probably  more  or  less,  so  very  specially  in  this 
case,  the  title  was  used  significantly,  and  not  merely 
from  custom.  It  served,  that  is  to  say,  as  a  symbol  of 
the  religious  attitude  of  Jesus,  and  as  a  protest  against 
the  antagonistic  attitude  of  the  scribes.  Wherein  then 
did  the  difference  between  the  two  attitudes  lie?  It 
might  be  summed  up  in  these  two  particulars.  First, 
the  religion  of  the  scribes  was  inhuman ;  it  posited  an 
artificial  false  antithesis  between  the  divine  and  the 
human  interest.  Second,  it  was  ambitious.  The  spirit 
of  pride  and  self-importance  pervaded  it  throughout. 
This  spirit  found  expression  in  the  Messianic  idea  of 
the  scribes,  as  in  all  other  parts  of  their  system.  Only 
a   Messiah   coming  with  worldly  pomp  would   please 


170  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

them.  He  must  come  as  the  Son  of  some  great  One, 
and  be  in  all  things  like  His  descent.  We  quite 
understand  how  when  Jesus  asked  the  Pharisees  (in 
spirit  identical  with  the  scribes) :  What  think  ye  con- 
cerning the  Christ  ?  whose  Son  is  he  ?  they  were  so 
ready  with  the  answer:  The  Son  of  David. ^  That  was 
the  essential  point  for  them.  DaAddic  descent  before 
all  things,  everything  else  subordinate  and  conforming 
thereto. 

At  both  points  Jesus  stood  in  irreconcilable  antago- 
nism to  the  scribes.  He  was  emphatically,  passionately 
human.,  and  He  was  humble.  In  His  whole  public 
career,  by  every  word  and  act.  He  was  ever  saying  in 
effect:  "I  stand  for  the  human,  not  as  opposed  to  the 
divine,  but  as  ultimately  identical  with  it.  I  am  jeal- 
ous for  God's  honour,  and  just  on  that  account  I 
champion  the  interest  of  man.  For  I  find  in  this  land 
among  those  who  make  themselves  prominent  in 
religion  a  spurious  zeal  for  the  divine  whose  practical 
issue  is  immorality  and  inhumanity.  They  encourage 
men  to  say  '  Corban,'  and  so  excuse  themselves  for  neg- 
lecting the  duties  of  filial  piety. ^  They  interpret  the 
Sabbath  law  of  rest  so  strictly  as  to  make  it  wrong  for 
a  man  to  satisfy  hunger  by  rubbing  a  few  ears  of  corn 
in  his  hands,3  or  to  heal  a  sick  man  on  the  seventh  day, 
so  bringing  the  Fourth  Commandment  into  needless 
conflict  with  the  higher  law  of  mercy.  Therefore  I 
make  it  my  business  to  emphasise  the  neglected  inter- 
est, not  in  a  onesided  way  or  in  the  spirit  of  mere 
reaction,  but  as  the  best  way  of  guarding  that  very 
1  Matt.  xxii.  42.  2  3/„(^.  xv.  5.  ^  Matt.  xii.  1-8. 


THE    WORTH    DP    MAN  171 

divine  interest  of  which  they  have  constitnted  them- 
selves the  patrons."  The  contrast  in  the  other  respect 
was  not  less  glaring.  The  scribes  loved  titles  of  hon- 
our. They  desired  to  l)e  called  of  men  Rabbi. ^  It 
gratified  their  vanity  and  proclaimed  their  importance 
as  men  who  knew  the  law  and  the  traditional  inter- 
pretation of  it  current  in  the  schools.  Jesus  had  noth- 
insf  in  common  with  them  here.  He  set  no  value  on 
complimentary  epithets,  or  on  any  expressions  of 
respect  towards  Himself,  except  in  so  far  as  they  repre- 
sented intelligent  and  sincere  conviction.  He  declined 
even  to  be  called  "  good  "  in  the  way  of  compliment  by 
one  who  came  to  Ilim  enquiring  the  way  to  Eternal 
Life.^  His  aversion  to  everything  savouring  of  vanity, 
ostentation,  self-importance  and  self-advertisement  was 
austere  and  unconquerable.  He  prayed  not  at  the 
street  corner,  but  amid  the  solitude  of  the  mountains 
when  men  were  asleep.  He  withdrew  into  the  wilder- 
ness from  popular  admiration.  He  enjoined  on  His 
disciples  to  tell  no  man  that  He  was  the  Christ. 

The  title  "  Son  of  man  "  as  used  in  the  reply  to  the 
scribe  was  a  compendious  proclamation  of  this  twofold 
antagonism.  It  said  these  two  things  :  Son  of  man 
in  my  religious  tendency,  zealous  for  the  human;  Son 
of  man  in  my  estimate  of  myself,  as  opposed  to  son  of 
David,  the  attractive  title  for  those  who  desire  a 
Messiah  harmonising  with  vain  thoughts.  Charged 
with  such  significance  it  set  very  fully  before  the  scribe 
the  grave  import  of  the  step  he  proposed  to  take  in 
becoming  a  disciple.  That,  we  now  clearly  under- 
1  3IaU.  xxiii.  7.  2  j\fark  x.  17. 


172  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

stand,  did  not  lie  in  entering  on  a  life  of  physical 
hardship.  It  rather  lay  in  this  :  that  the  aspirant  to 
discipleship  was  called  upon  to  abandon  forever  Rab- 
binical ways  of  thinking,  and  to  adopt  as  his  leader 
one  who  could  make  no  response  to  current  Messianic 
hopes.  What  happened?  We  are  not  told,  but  we 
are  apt  to  take  fur  granted  that  of  course  the  scribe 
turned  away  from  a  Master  who  seemed  so  cynically 
indifferent  to  his  approaches.  Indeed  we  are  inclined 
to  wonder  how  a  scribe  could  ever  think  of  becoming  a 
disciple  of  Jesus,  even  if  he  possessed  only  a  moderate 
acquaintance  with  His  character,  and  are  tempted  to 
suspect  that  in  connecting  the  aspirant  with  this  class, 
the  evangelic  tradition  is  at  fault.  But  it  has  to  be 
remembered  that  the  class-spirit  does  not  dominate  all 
the  members  of  a  fraternity  to  a  uniform  extent,  and 
that  Mark  tells  of  a  scribe  who  had  considerable  sym- 
pathy with  the  ideas  of  Jesus,  and  whom  Jesus 
regarded  with  much  interest  as  one  not  far  from  the 
Kingdom  of  God.^  It  takes  time  for  a  human  soul  to 
be  made  an  abject  willing  slave  of  a  pernicious  relig- 
ious system,  and  in  the  case  of  not  a  few  young  men  of 
ingenuous  spirit  and  somewhat  robust  moral  senti- 
ments, the  process  is  a  species  of  martyrdom.  There 
were  doubtless  among  the  scholars  of  the  scribes  some 
whose  better  nature  revolted  against  the  doctrines  they 
were  being  taught.  Such  malcontents  would  steal 
away  now  and  then  from  the  school  to  hear  the  ncAV 
Preacher,  as  young  men  and  women  in  our  cities  now 
steal  away  from  orthodox  churches  to  hear  some  charm- 
1  Mark  xii.  28-34. 


THE   WORTH    OF   MAN  173 

ing  heretic.  And  of  course  these  runaways  felt  the 
spell  of  Him  who  taught  "not  as  the  scribes."  What 
wonder  if  one  at  least  bethought  himself  of  breaking 
away  from  their  dominion  and  joining  the  society  of 
the  Great  Proscribed? 

I  have  discussed  at  some  length  this  first  text  in 
Matthew's  Gospel  containing  the  title  "  Son  of  man  " 
because  of  the  light  which,  in  virtue  of  its  setting- 
there,  it  throws  on  the  strong  convictions  of  our  Lord 
concerning  the  significance  of  man.  My  present  aim 
is  not  to  discuss  the  import  of  the  title  for  its  own  sake, 
but  simply  in  connection  with  what  I  regard  as  a  wider 
and  more  important  question :  What  Jesus  thought 
of  the  race  with  which  He  so  emphatically  identified 
Himself.  But  I  may  say  that  I  regard  it  as  a  happy 
circumstance  that  just  this  particular  text  is  the  first 
containing  the  title  which  we  encounter  in  perusing 
tlie  records  of  our  Lord's  ministry.  For  it  is  not  only 
the  first,  but  the  most  luminous.  The  title  scribe  given 
to  the  aspirant  furnishes  the  key  to  the  title  Son  of 
man  assumed  by  the  Master.  And  the  meaning  struck 
out  of  the  latter  like  a  spark  out  of  steel  by  the  stroke 
of  a  flint,  is  in  turn  the  key  to  its  meaning  in  some 
other  texts  where  its  sense  is  often  misapprehended. 
For  example  in  the  text :  "  The  Son  of  man  is  Lord 
even  of  the  Sabbath  day."  i  The  title  here  is  not  to 
be  charged  with  all  sorts  of  theological  meanings,  such 
as  the  "ideal  Man,"  or  the  Man  who  while  human  is 
more,  even  Divine,  or  the  Messiah  invested  with  full 
Messianic  prerogative.  It  is  not  yet  become  a  stereo- 
1  Matt.  xii.  8. 


174  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

typed  phrase,  a  vox  signata;  it  is  a  phrase  Avhose  mean- 
ing is  fluid,  used  with  conscious  significance,  and  with 
strict  relevance  to  the  context.  And  the  connection 
requires  that,  as  in  the  text  we  have  so  fully  consid- 
ered, it  should  be  taken  as  meaning,  "  the  ]\Ian  who 
stands  for  the  human  interest  as  distinct  from  the  sup- 
posed divine  interest."  Christ's  whole  thought  is : 
"the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  (as  you  think) 
man  for  the  Sabbath  ;  therefore  I  wlio  make  it  my  busi- 
ness to  vindicate  the  claims  of  the  neglected  human, 
am  the  best  judge  of  how  the  Sabbath  is  to  be 
observed.  I  have  no  desire  to  set  it  aside,  for  as  God 
meant  it,  it  is  a  beneficent  institution ;  but  I  wish  and 
intend  to  restore  to  it  its  true  place  and  function  as 
having  for  its  end  man's  good.''  So  again  in  the  text 
"  Whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the  Son  of  man 
it  shall  be  forgiven  ;  but  whosoever  speaketh  against 
the  Holy  Ghost  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him.''^  The 
idea  is  not :  blasphemy  against  the  Son  of  man  comes 
next  to  blasj^hemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost  in  heinous- 
ness,  and  therefore  is  barely  forgivable.  So  under- 
stood it  takes  its  place  in  a  climax  thus :  blasphemy 
against  ordinary  men  forgivable  of  course,  blasphemy 
against  the  extraordinary  ideal  man  barely  forgivable, 
blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost  not  forgivable  at 
all.  The  meaning  rather  is  :  blasphemy  against  the 
Son  of  man  shall  be  forgiven  just  as  blasphemous 
words  against  any  son  of  man  may  be  forgiven.  If  it 
be  asked  why  the  Son  of  man  and  sons  of  men  in  gen- 
eral are  put  on  a  level,  we  shall  get  light  by  reflecting 
1  Matt.  xii.  32. 


THE    WORTH    OF    MAN  175 

on  the  source  of  the  blasphemy  against  the  Son  of 
man.  The  main  source  of  the  blasphemies  against  the 
Son  of  man,  in  matter  of  fact,  was  just  that  He  stood  so 
stoutly  for  the  hiwian.  He  identified  Himself  with 
neglected,  outraged  human  interests,  and  He  suffered 
in  name  and  fame  in  consequence,  and  He  was  content 
to  do  so,  and  took  it  all  as  a  matter  of  course,  and 
regarded  it  as  in  most  cases  the  result  of  a  very  par- 
donable misunderstanding.  He  associated  with  publi- 
cans and  sinners,  and  they  called  Him  a  drunkard,  a 
glutton,  and  a  philo-publican.^  He  healed  on  the  Sab- 
bath day,  and  they  called  Him  a  Sabbath-breaker.  He 
cheered  the  heart  of  the  palsied  man  by  proclaiming 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  they  called  Him  a  blas- 
phemer.^  He  allowed  a  sinful  woman  to  touch  His 
person,  and  it  was  inferred  that  if  He  was  a  good  man 
He  at  all  events  could  not  be  a  prophet.^  He  pitied 
the  poor  demoniacs  and  restored  them  to  health  and 
sanity,  and  they  said  "  He  is  in  league  with  Beelze- 
bub." It  is  true  that  in  this  last  instance  He  did  not 
take  the  blasphemy  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  made  it 
the  subject  of  grave  animadversion,  as  if  it  bordered 
on  the  unpardonable.  But  why  so?  Simply  because 
He  found  it  impossible  to  believe  that  in  this  case  as 
in  most  of  the  others  just  enumerated,  it  was  the  result 
of  a  pardonable  misunderstanding.  He  did  not  at  all 
wonder  that  men  misjudged  Him  when  they  saw  Him 
associating  with  the  social  pariahs.  Fellowship  with 
such  for  their  moral  rescue  was  so  new  a  thing,  and 
fellowship  with  them  from  love  of  their  evil  ways  so 
1  Matt.  xi.  19.  '■^  Matt.  ix.  2-3.  3  j^^i/^g  yii.  39. 


176  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

much  the  rule,  that  misconception  could  hardly  fail  to 
arise.  The  calumniated  one,  even  in  that  case,  might 
have  his  own  suspicions  as  to  the  real  sources  of  the 
calumny ;  but  the  presumption  was  against  Him,  and 
He  was  silent.  It  was  the  penalty  He  had  to  pay  for 
doing  a  daring  thing  at  the  bidding  of  an  unexamj)led 
love  and  value  for  man,  even  at  the  worst.  But  in  the 
case  of  the  Beelzebub-hypothesis  the  position  was  dif- 
ferent. The  demoniacs  were  not  regarded  with  moral 
aversion  like  the  publicans  and  "sinners."  They  were 
not  immoral,  but  simply  unhappy  sufferers  under  some 
supernatural  influence  of  a  malignant  type.  Men  re- 
garded them  with  feelings  kindred  to  those  we  cherish 
towards  the  insane.  Pity  for  them,  therefore,  even  if 
unusual  in  degree,  offered  no  occasion  for  sinister 
remark.  That  one  tried  to  cure  them  could  not  legiti- 
mately expose  to  suspicion,  for  such  attempts  were  not 
uncommon  in  unsuspected  quarters.  The  offence  of 
Jesus  in  this  instance  was  not  His  pity,  nor  His  effort 
to  succour,  but  His  signal  success.  That  made  Him 
famous  and  popular,  therefore  it  had  to  be  explained 
away,  or,  if  the  fact  could  not  be  denied,  its  character 
had  to  be  somehow  blackened.  The  Beelzebub-hypoth- 
esis was  invented  for  this  purpose.  The  inventors  had 
no  faith  in  it  themselves ;  they  simply  hoped  that  it 
would  throw  dust  in  the  eyes  of  an  admiring  populace. 
And  that  was  why  their  sin  appeared  to  Jesus  so 
serious.  It  was  not  in  His  view  a  sin  of  misunder- 
standing against  the  Son  of  man  arising  out  of  His 
identifying  Himself  with  novel  or  unpopular  human- 
ities, but  a  sin  against  knowledge  committed  by  men 


THE   WORTH   OF    MAN  177 

who  would  say  and  do  anything  rather  than  admit  that 
any  good  was  to  be  found  in  Him. 

I  do  not  forget  that  the  title  "  Son  of  man "  has 
another  side,  an  apocalyptic  sense  connecting  it  with 
the  visions  of  Daniel,  and  with  the  glories  of  the  sec- 
ond advent.  But  even  on  that  side  it  is  not  divorced 
from  the  radical  sense  of  standing  for  the  human. 
Daniel's  Kingdom  of  one  like  unto  a  Son  of  man  is 
a  Kingdom  of  the  human  as  distinct  from  Kingdoms 
of  the  brutal  type  symbolised  by  wild*  beasts,  —  lion, 
bear,  leopard,  or  other  unnamed  monster  more  hideous 
and  ferocious  than  the  rest.  The  Kingdom  of  the 
human  came  to  its  rights  in  the  teaching  and  ministry 
of  Jesus,  and  this  constitutes  His  best  claim  to  be  the 
Christ,  not  mere  physical  descent  from  David,  though 
that,  as  the  genealogies  attest,  may  have  been  a  fact. 
And  whatever  apocalyptic  glories  may  be  in  store  for 
the  Son  of  man,  they  will  never  be  such  as  to  put  Him 
out  of  conceit  with  the  humanities  He  inaugurated, 
or  divorce  His  celestial  life  from  His  life  on  earth. 
The  Son  of  man  who  returns  to  this  world,  accom- 
panied by  a  royal  escort  of  angels,  to  take  His  seat  as 
judge  of  men,  does  not  forget  His  state  of  humiliation 
or  the  classes  of  which  that  state  made  Him  a  fellow. 
He  judges  men  by  the  way  in  which  they  treat  the 
classes  who  are  lightly  esteemed,  and  whom  He  still 
accounts  His  brethren.  The  glorified  Son  of  man,  in 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  is  still  the  man  who  stands  for 
the  human,  whose  heart  burns  with  the  "enthusiasm 
of  humanity,"  and  His  decisive  test  of  character  is  the 
relation  in  which  men  stand  to  that  sacred  passion. 


178  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

Does  it  burn  in  their  hearts,  then  they  are  the  children 
of  the  Father.  Are  they  inhuman,  then  their  place 
cannot  be  in  the  Kingdom  prepared  by  the  Father  for 
those  who  with  heart  and  soul  have  practised  the 
humanities.^ 

Christ's  doctrine  of  man  is  grand,  and  still  at  the 
end  of  nineteen  centuries  stands  above  Christendom 
a  lofty  unreached  ideal.  And  what  shall  we  say  of 
Him  who  taught  it,  not  by  word  only,  but  still  more 
emphatically  by  deed  ?  Surely  that  He  has  earned  the 
Eternal  honour  of  all  who  seek  the  good  of  their  kind. 
With  open  face  we  see  "  the  Saviour  and  the  Friend  of 
man,"  and  His  teaching  and  His  example  are  the  in- 
spiration of  all  who  desire  to  leave  the  world  better 
than  they  found  it. 

^  Matt.  XXV.  31-46. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE   MORAL    IDEAL 

On  the  subject  of  the  worth  of  man,  which  occupied 
our  attention  in  the  last  chapter,  the  Teaching  on  the 
Hill  gave  us  rather  our  key-note,  or  starting-point,  than 
full  materials  for  a  detailed  statement.  "  Are  ye  not 
much  better  than  they?"  was  its  solitary  but  most 
suggestive  contribution.  It  is  otherwise  with  the 
present  topic,  the  doctrine  of  the  moral  ideal  or  of 
the  true  righteousness  of  the  Kingdom.  That  may 
be  said  to  be  the  theme  of  the  instruction  communi- 
cated to  disciples  on  the  mountain-top.  From  begin- 
ning to  end  the  Teacher  is  engaged  in  answering  the 
question  :  How  do  you  conceive  human  conduct  in 
relation  to  God  and  men,  how,  e.g.^  in  comparison 
with  Rabbinical  or  Pharisaic  teachers,  whom  we  have 
heard  you  occasionally  criticise  ?  If  they  are  wrong, 
what  is  right?  That  was  a  question  sure  to  be  asked 
by  disciples  of  the  "  labouring  and  heavy  laden  "  type  ; 
and,  even  if  there  were  none  such  in  the  actual  disciple- 
circle,  the  Master  would  find  it  necessary,  in  order  to 
do  justice  to  His  own  conception  of  the  true  life,  to 
take  an  opportunity  of  dealing  with  the  problem,  time 
and  place  being  convenient.     No  better  time  can  be 

179 


180  WITH  OPEN   FACE 

thought  of  than  in  the  middle  period  of  our  Lord's 
public  career,  after  the  synagogue  ministry  in  Galilee 
was  over,  and  before  the  last  months  when  the  final 
crisis  was  in  view,  and  self-sacrifice  became  the  pressing 
topic  of  the  hour ;  and  no  better  place  than  a  mountain 
retreat  affording  the  necessary  detachment,  and  favour- 
able to  the  didactic  mood. 

In  Matthew's  report  of  Christ's  Teaching  on  the 
Hill,  His  doctrine  of  Righteousness  is  cast  into  the 
form  of  a  contrast  between  His  own  ideas  on  the  sub- 
ject and  those  current  among  "  the  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees." This  was  the  most  natural  method  to  employ 
in  the  circumstances.  The  righteousness  of  the  scribes 
was  an  obtrusive  fact  familiar  to  all.  It  had  to  be 
reckoned  with  by  one  proposing  to  give  a  course  of 
instruction  in  religion  and  morals,  and  a  teacher  could 
most  easily  and  clearly  communicate  to  his  scholars 
precise  ideas  of  his  own  views  on  these  topics  by  col- 
lating them  with  a  conflicting  system  widely  preva- 
lent. This  polemic,  the  larger  part  of  the  discourse, 
disappears  in  the  pages  of  Luke,  where  the  Teaching 
on  the  Hill  assumes  the  form  of  a  sermon  to  an  ideal 
Christian  congregation,  mainly  Gentile  in  its  compo- 
sition, and  therefore  supposed  to  have  no  practical  in- 
terest in  controversial  references  to  the  opinions  of  the 
Jewish  contemporaries  of  the  Saviour.  This  omission 
was  perfectly  natural,  however  it  came  about,  whether 
through  a  gradual  transformation  in  the  tradition  be- 
fore it  reached  Luke's  hands,  or  by  the  exercise  of 
editorial  discretion  on  the  part  of  the  Evangelist  him- 
self.    But  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that 


THE   MOKAL   IDEAL  181 

those  Christians  who  knew  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill 
only  through  Luke's  narrative  lost  nothing  of  perma- 
nent didactic  value.  For  in  truth  the  large  section 
omitted,  while  polemical  in  form,  is  essentially  a  body 
of  most  valuable  positive  instruction  as  to  the  nature 
of  true  righteousness.  Even  the  polemical  element  is 
not  to  be  despised  as  of  purely  antiquarian  character, 
or  at  best  as  possessing  merely  historical  interest,  in 
so  far  as  it  gives  us  some  information  concerning  the 
religious  opinions  and  practices  of  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees.  It  contains  Christ's  negative  doctrine  of 
righteousness,  setting  forth  in  very  explicit  terms  what 
righteousness  is  not.  But  if  the  polemical  form  be  dis- 
tasteful to  us,  we  can  easily  strip  it  off,  which  done, 
there  will  still  remain  an  unmutilated,  perennially 
valid  account  of  what,  in  the  mind  of  our  Lord  Jesus, 
true  righteousness  really  is. 

Our  Lord's  doctrine  of  righteousness  here,  as  through- 
out the  Evangelic  Records,  is  dominated  by  the  concep- 
tion of  God  as  Father.  The  righteousness  inculcated 
is  distinctively  filial.  In  Christ's  system  of  religious 
thought  there  were  three  ideas  of  cardinal  importance, 
and  so  related  to  each  other  that  once  you  are  ac- 
quainted with  any  one  of  them  you  can  determine  for 
yourself  the  import  of  the  other  two.  The  three  ideas 
were  represented  by  the  three  great  words.  Kingdom., 
Father,  Righteousness.  Suppose  you  begin  your  studies 
with  the  word  "  Father,"  and  ascertain  by  an  induc- 
tive examination  of  the  various  texts  in  which  it 
occurs  what  it  signified  as  discriminatingly  used  by 
Jesus ;  then   you   can   determine   almost   without   de- 


182  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

tailed  enquiiy,  by  deduction,  what  "  Kingdom "  and 
"  Righteousness  "  on  His  lips  must  mean.  The  King- 
dom will  signify  :  God  obtaining  sovereign  influence 
over  human  hearts  by  paternal  love,  in  virtue  of  which 
He  calls  all  men,  even  the  basest,  His  sons,  freely  par- 
dons their  offences,  and  invites  them  to  participate  in 
fullest  family  privilege  and  fellowship.  And  the  right- 
eousness of  the  Kingdom  Avill  be  that  of  men  who  stand 
to  God  in  the  relation  of  sons,  and  to  fellow-men  in  the 
relation  of  brethren.  The  whole  doctrine  of  right- 
eousness will  be  capable  of  being  summarily  compre- 
hended in  these  two  precepts :  Be  to  God  all  that  a 
son  should  be  to  a  father.  Treat  fellow-men  as  breth- 
ren. As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  the  special  injunctions 
contained  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  can  easily  be 
brought  under  one  or  other  of  these  heads.  It  may  be 
worth  while  to  take  a  cursory  glance  at  the  legislative 
programme  by  way  of  verifying  this  statement. 

The  first  precept  of  the  Master  is,  "  Let  your  light 
shine."  That  means,  as  we  have  already  ascertained, 
seek  your  Father's  honour.  Picking  out  the  precepts 
in  the  sequel  belonging  to  the  same  category,  —  viz., 
duty  to  God,  —  we  come  next  to  that  contained  in 
Chap.  V.  45-48,  the  gist  of  which  is :  imitate  the 
character  of  the  Divine  Father,  even  in  its  most  sub- 
lime virtues,  such  as  magnanimity.  Passing  into  the 
sixth  chapter,  we  meet  with  an  admonition  to  shun 
vulgar  ostentation,  religious  parade,  in  almsgiving, 
fasting,  praying,  with  insatiable  appetite  for  the  good 
opinion  of  men,  —  which,  translated  into  non-contro- 
versial terms,  means  :  value  supremely,  if  not  solely, 


THE   MORAL    IDEAL  183 

the  judgment  of  the  Father  in  heaven,  who  looks 
into  the  lieart  of  things,  and  not  merely  at  the  sur- 
face.^ Tlien  follows  a  counsel  concerning  prayer, 
whose  import  is,  cherish  towards  God  as  your  Father 
sincere  reverence,  manifesting  itself  in  devout  adora- 
tion and  lowly  yet  confiding  petitions.^  Then  finally, 
in  the  close  of  the  same  chapter,  comes  the  injunction 
to  make  the  Kingdom  of  the  Father,  the  divine  inter- 
est in  the  world,  the  chief  end  of  life,  with  single- 
hearted  devotion,  and  with  absolute  freedom  from 
care  about  personal  concerns,  trusting  implicitly  in  the 
heavenly  Father's  ever-watchful  and  faithful  provi- 
dence/^ 

Turning  now  to  those  precepts  which  come  under 
the  second  general  category,  duty  to  men,  we  find  first 
a  precept  attaching  itself  to  the  sixth  commandment : 
Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Christ's  injunction  virtually  is  : 
Be  not  content  with  merely  not  killing  a  fellow-man  ; 
cherish  towards  him,  as  a  brother,  a  love  which  shall 
make  it  impossible  to  hate  him  or  despise  him.*  At 
this  point  the  doctrine  of  the  Master  is  full  of  local 
colouring,  with  Hebrew  words  such  as  Raca,  and  refer- 
ences to  Jewish  tribunals,  investing  it  with  a  foreign, 
far-off  aspect,  and  depriving  it  apparently  of  universal 
value.  But  it  is  only  the  shell  that  is  temporary,  the 
kernel  is  perennial.  Nothing  is  more  characteristic  of 
the  great  Master  than  the  way  in  which  He  classes  the 
degrees  of  guilt  in  connection  with  the  various  offences 
against   the   law    of   brotherly  love.       He  treats   sins 

1  Matt.  vi.  1-6,  16-18.  2  Matt.  vi.  7-15. 

3  Matt.  vi.  25-34.  *  Matt.  v.  21-24. 


184  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

seemingly  trivial,  such  as  calling  a  man  names,  as  more 
heinous  than  offences  committed  in  a  passion  of  rage. 
The  reason  is  that  the  former  imply  cold  contempt, 
more  inhuman  than  anger  which  prompts  to  acts  often 
bitterly  regretted  as  soon  as  the  hot  temper  cools  down. 
Raca  expresses  contempt  for  a  man's  head  =  you  stupid! 
More,  fool,  contempt  for  his  heart  or  character  =  you 
scoundrel.  Very  notable  likewise  is  the  counsel  to  the 
man  who  is  at  variance  with  a  brother,  to  give  the  work 
of  reconciliation  precedence  of  sacrifice.  Whether  it 
formed  part  of  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill  is  a  question 
of  minor  moment ;  it  is  at  any  rate  an  unmistakable 
and  precious  element  of  Christ's  doctrine  of  morals. 
Note  first  the  general  thesis  :  ethics  before  religion. 
This  was  fundamental  in  our  Lord's  teaching,  enforced 
with  much  emphasis  and  due  iteration.  Placability 
before  sacrifice,  mercy  before  sacrifice,  filial  affection 
versus  Corban.  Doctrine  most  wholesome,  and  ur- 
gently needed  then  and  always.  Note  next  the  per- 
emptory terms  in  which  the  special  injunction  is 
enforced.  The  man  who  has  a  variance  is  supposed  to 
be  standing  by  the  altar  when  he  remembers  the  matter 
between  him  and  his  brother.  A  few  minutes  will  suf- 
fice for  j)resenting  duly  his  offering.  Of  course,  then, 
the  counsel  is  :  Despatch  quickly  your  religious  busi- 
ness and  hasten  back  to  your  alienated  brother,  urged 
on  to  the  work  of  reconciliation  by  the  solemn  feelings 
awakened  by  the  sacrificial  service.  No !  but  rather, 
"  leave  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way;  first  be 
reconciled  to  thy  brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  thy 
gift."     The  counsel  may  seem  very  open  to  criticism. 


THE   MORAL   IDEAL  185 

Does  it  not,  for  example,  set  more  importance  on  the 
love  due  to  a  brother  man,  than  on  the  honour  due  to 
the  Father  in  heaven,  and  place  the  second  great  com- 
mandment before  the  first  ?  It  may  seem  so,  but  dis- 
ciples will  be  more  profitably  occupied  in  laying  duly  to 
heart  the  intense  ethicalism  of  the  Master's  teaching 
than  in  criticising  His  strong  way  of  putting  things. 

Next  comes  a  precept  based  on  the  seventh  command- 
ment: "  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old 
time,  thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery  ;  but  I  say  unto 
you  that  whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after 
her  hath  committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his 
heart. "^  Which  may  be  thus  paraphrased:  "Be  not 
satisfied  with  abstaining  from  acts  of  impurity  towards 
a  woman  ;  regard  her  as  a  sister  whose  honour  shall  be 
for  thyself  inviolable,  and  in  reference  to  others  an  object 
of  jealous  defence."  For  it  is  obvious  that  only  such  a 
way  of  regarding  a  woman  can  effectually  exclude  evil 
desire.  Towards  a  sister  no  one  but  a  monster  could 
cherish  lustful  thoughts.  Let  every  woman  get  a  sister's 
place,  and  she  is  safe  from  the  heart  that  lusteth  and 
the  member  that  offendeth.  But  what  delicate,  tender, 
generous  love  is  needful  for  that  I  Perhaps  only  one 
bearing  our  common  human  nature  ever  loved  so,  even 
He  who  spake  the  words  I  now  comment  on.  He  was 
tempted,  we  are  taught,  in  all  respects  as  we  are.  But 
e\^ery  woman  He  saw  was  as  a  mother,  a  daughter,  a 
sister, — a  sacred  object  of  tender  respect  through  the 
mighty  power  of  a  pure  holy  love. 

Worthy  of  all  acceptation  and  honour  is  the  doctrine 
1  Matt.  V.  27,  28. 


186  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

Jesus  taught  on  the  kindred  topic  of  divorced  Jewish 
women  had  from  of  old  been  subject  to  grievous  wrong 
in  connection  with  the  married  state.  They  were 
regarded  as  the  property  of  their  husbands,  and  they 
were  liable  to  be  put  away  for  any  cause  at  the  caprice 
of  their  lords,  without  redress,  except  that  secured  by 
an  ancient  statute  which  ordained  that  a  Avife  when  put 
away  should  be  furnished  with  a  document  certifying 
the  fact  of  her  divorcement,  so  that  she  might  be  free 
from  her  former  husband  and  at  liberty  to  marry  an- 
other. The  scribes  in  our  Lord's  time  busied  them- 
selves about  getting  the  bill  of  separation  into  due 
legal  form.  They  did  nothing  to  restrain  the  unjust 
caprice  of  husbands,  but  rather  opened  a  wider  door  to 
license.  Some  of  them  recognised  the  most  whimsical 
dislikes,  even  a  wandering  fancy  for  a  fairer  woman, 
as  a  sufficient  reason  for  putting  away.  But  they  were 
duly  zealous  to  have  the  bill  of  divorcement,  even  in 
such  an  outrageous  case,  in  proper  form,  and  they  may 
have  flattered  themselves  that  by  such  action  they 
were  defending  the  rights  of  women.  What  a  contrast 
between  these  pedants  and  Jesus.  He  raised  the  pre- 
vious question,  and  asserted  a  more  radical  right  of 
woman,  —  the  right  not  to  be  put  away,  except  when 
she  put  herself  away  by  her  own  misconduct.  He 
revived  the  old  heroic  prophetic  cry  :  "  I  hate  putting 
away,"  ^  so  performing  an  act  of  humanity  of  immense 
importance  for  Christian  civilisation,  and  exhibiting 
courage  as  one  fighting  single-handed  against  long 
established  evil  custom. 

1  Matt.  V.  31,  32.  2  j[£al.  ii.  15. 


THE    MORAL    IDEAL  187 

The  Teacher  on  the  Hill  made  a  most  valuable  con- 
tribution to  the  illustration  of  the  law  of  brotherly 
love  in  connection  with  the  old  legal  rule  of  retalia- 
tion :  "an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  ^ 
What  He  said  on  this  subject  amounted  to  this  :  "  Be 
not  the  slave  of  legal  claims.  Assert  your  moral 
rights  by  renouncing  your  legal  ones,  and  refuse  to 
be  provoked  into  retaliation  by  any  amount  of  injus- 
tice or  unbrotherliness."  The  concrete  forms  under 
which  this  general  precept  is  presented  are  Eastern 
in  their  costume,  and  some  of  them  require  a  word  of 
explanation  for  modern  and  Western  readers.  The 
coat  and  the  cloak  are  the  two  principal  pieces  of 
man's  apparel,  the  former  being  the  under-garment, 
or  tunic,  the  latter  the  upper-garment,  or  mantle,  — 
the  more  valuable  article,  and  serving  as  bed-clothing 
by  night,  as  well  as  the  purpose  of  dress  by  day. 
The  counsel  thus  is  :  If  any  man  claims  as  his  legal 
right  thy  less  valuable  under-garment,  dispute  not 
his  claim,  let  him  have  what  he  demands,  and  over 
and  above  thy  more  costly  upper  robe.  The  instance 
of  compulsion  to  go  a  mile  refers  probably  to  military 
requisitions.  The  word  rendered  "  compel "  was  orig- 
inally Persian,  and  was  subsequently  introduced  into 
the  Greek  and  Latin  languages.  It  denoted  primarily 
to  requisition  men,  beasts,  or  conveyances  for  the  cou- 
rier system,  then  under  the  successors  of  the  Persians 
in  the  East,  and  under  the  Roman  Empire  it  was  ap- 
plied to  the  forced  transport  of  military  baggage  by 
the  inhabitants  of  a  country  through  which  troops 
1  Matt.  V.  38. 


188  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

were  marching.  Doubtless  the  Jewish  people  in  the 
time  of  our  Lord  had  experience  of  this  system,  some- 
times in  an  oppressive  form.  An  instance  of  compul- 
sory service  under  military  authority  is  supplied  in 
the  Gospel  narratives  of  the  crucifixion  —  Simon  of 
Cyrene  forced  by  the  soldiers  to  carry  the  cross  of 
Jesus. 1  The  counsel  of  Him  who  was  one  day  to 
get  that  accidental  benefit  of  an  evil  system,  to  dis- 
ciples gathered  about  Him  on  the  hill,  was  this  : 
"•  Take  the  sting  out  of  the  compulsion  by  rendering 
the  service  demanded  freely,  and  make  your  freedom 
conspicuous  by  doubling  the  service.  If  required  to 
carry  soldiers'  baggage  one  mile,  carry  it  two,  no  man 
compelling."  How  wdse  this  teaching,  if  hard  to  carry 
into  practice  !  Yea,  and  how  easy  too  if  only  we  had 
the  requisite  moral  dignity  and  the  needful  amount 
of  love  !  What  an  infinite  amount  of  annoyance  men 
escape  who  obey  these  evangelic  precepts,  and  to  what 
an  extent  they  contribute  towards  the  humanising  of 
the  world.  Doubtless  there  are  men,  many,  who 
would  victimise  such  gentleness,  yet  on  a  broad  view 
of  thing's  it  remains  true  that  the  meek  shall  inherit 
the  earth.  Christ's  precepts  about  turning  the  other 
cheek,  and  giving  the  mantle  into  the  bargain,  are  not 
to  be  turned  into  obligator}^  rules.  But  the  spirit 
they  embody  is  that  which  alone  can  bring  about  the 
desirable  consummation,  a  universal  brotherhood. 

After  these  examples  of  the  Teacher's  lofty  ethical 
doctrine,  breathing  throughout  the  spirit  of  brotherly 
love,  the  final  instance  of  the   new  way  of   thinking, 
1  Matt,  xxvii.  32  ;   Mark  xv.  21 ;  Luke  xxiii.  26. 


THE   MORAL   IDEAL  189 

as  opposed  to  the  traditional,  does  not  come  upon  us 
as  a  surprise.  We  are  prepared  to  receive  it  simply 
as  the  crown  of  the  foregoing  discourse.  "  It  hath 
been  said,  Thou  slialt  love  thy  neighbour  and  hate 
thine  enemy,  But  I  say  unto  you.  Love  your  ene- 
mies."^ Luke,  who  omits  so  much,  is  careful  to  retain 
this  precept,  of  course  with  the  controversial  refer- 
ence left  out.  Indeed,  he  not  only  retains  it  but 
gives  it  twice,  using  it  in  the  first  instance  as  a  cap- 
tion under  which  to  collect  the  moral  sentences  which 
in  Matthew's  version  serve  to  illustrate  our  Lord's 
doctrine  concerning  the  lex  talionis,  along  with  the 
law  of  reciprocity. 2  One  cannot  but  feel  that  Luke's 
version  at  this  point  is  secondary  and  somewhat  arti- 
ficial, and  that  the  discourse  has  undergone  manipula- 
tion at  the  hands  either  of  the  Evangelist  or  of  those 
who  shaped  the  tradition  he  uses.  But  be  that  as  it 
may,  the  author  of  the  Third  Gospel  has  the  merit  of 
perceiving  that  the  precept  "  Love  your  enemies  "  was 
the  most  characteristic  and  important  feature  in  the 
Teaching  on  the  Hill.  And  the  device  of  iteration 
to  which  he  resorts,  serves  the  double  purpose  of  com- 
pensating for  what  is  omitted,  and  emphasising  what 
is  retained.  Another  contrivance  for  the  same  pur- 
pose may  be  found  in  the  introductory  phrase  :  "  But 
I  say  unto  you  who  hear."  This,  coming  in  immedi- 
ately after  the  initial  Beatitudes  and  Woes,  means  : 
"  Now,  my  hearers,  having  spoken  these  opening  sen- 
tences, let  me  declare  to  you  what  is  the  great  funda- 

1  Matt.  V.  43,  44. 

2  Luke  vi.  27-34. 


190  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

mental    duty  incumbent   on   every   disciple   of   mine  : 
Love;  love  even  your  enemies.'" 

Coming  back  to  Matthew's  form,  wherein  we  find 
both  thesis  and  antithesis,  the  gist  of  the  great  law 
of  love  as  therein  proclaimed  is  :  "  Acquiesce  in  no 
conventional  classification  of  men  as  friends  and  foes, 
neighbours  and  enemies  ;  let  all  be  friends  and  neigh- 
bours, or  let  foes  and  strangers  be  distinguished  as 
the  objects  of  a  more  chivalrous  love,  so  overcoming 
evil  with  an  absolutely  invincible  good."  This  new 
teaching  on  its  positive  side  would  probably  commend 
itself  immediately  and  for  the  moment  to  the  con- 
sciences of  all  hearers,  but  if  there  were  any  present 
who  cherished  friendly  feelings  towards  the  scribes, 
they  might  be  inclined  to  question  the  accuracy  and 
fairness  of  the  representation  given  of  their  teachingo 
Had  any  scribe  or  Rabbi  ever  taught  in  so  many 
words  that  men  should  love  their  neighbour  and  hate 
their  enemy  ?  Perhaps  not,  especially  if  we  under- 
stand by  neighbours  and  enemies  private  or  personal 
friends  and  foes.  Yet  our  Lord's  statement  truly 
reflects  the  spirit  which  characterised  the  teaching  of 
the  Jewish  schools.  The  tendency  of  Israel's  election 
from  the  first  had  been  to  foster  aversion  to  the  out- 
side nations,  and  from  the  time  of  Ezra  the  spirit  of 
Judaism  had  be^  one  of  growing  hostility  to  the 
Gentiles,  witness  the  book  of  Esther.  And  Jesus 
knew  well  that  the  average  Jew  was  only  too  ready 
to  follow  the  guidance  of  the  scribes,  and,  while  cher- 
ishing a  tribal  affection  for  his  countrymen,  to  regard 
with  racial  and  religious  abhorrence  all  beyond  the  pale. 


THE   MORAL   IDEAL  191 

The  paraphrastic  clauses  added  to  the  main  precept 
"  Love  your  enemies  "  in  Matthew's  narrative,  as  repro- 
duced in  our  Authorised  Version,  are  an  importation 
from  Luke.  In  the  best  texts  there  is  only  a  single 
addition  :  Pray  for  those  who  persecute  you.  It  ap- 
plies the  general  counsel  to  the  case  of  those  whom 
it  is  most  difficult  to  love  ;  those  viz.,  whose  enmity 
has  its  origin  in  religion.  There  is  no  hatred  so  bitter 
or  so  hard  to  bear.  Of  such  hatred  the  followers  of 
Jesus  were  destined  to  have  ample  experience  in  later 
days,  and  it  is  very  credible  that  with  prescience  of 
what  was  in  store  for  them.  He  strove  betimes  to 
imbue  them  with  the  Christian  temper  of  forbearance 
and  of  returning  good  for  evil.  It  is  possible  indeed 
that  all  these  added  clauses  in  Luke,  including  the  one 
in  Matthew,  are  interpretative  glosses,  and  that  all 
that  the  Master  said  was  "  Love  your  enemies,"  leav- 
ing His  disciples  to  expand  the  counsel  for  themselves. 
In  that  case  they  proved  skilful  commentators,  for  the 
love  of  enemies,  when  genuine,  will  just  mean  blessing 
them  that  curse  you,  doing  good  to  them  that  hate 
you,  and  praying  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you 
and  persecute  you.  And  they  were  skilled  interpreters 
because  they  were  faithful  doers  of  their  Master's  will. 
Their  comments  are  simply  a  transcript  of  their  con- 
duct. So  they  behaved,  and  so  therefore  they  repre- 
sented tlie  Master  as  teaching  them  to  behave.  The 
heroic  temper  of  the  Apostles,  their  benignant  bearing 
towards  foes,  is  a  signal  illustration  of  what  even  com- 
mon men  can  attain  to  through  the  inspiring  influence 
of  cherished  memories  of  lofty  teaching  reinforced  by 


192  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

an   equally   lofty    example.       "  They   had   been    with 
Jesus." 

Having  laid  down  the  new  law,  Jesus  added  character- 
istically lofty  inducements  to  keep  it  :  likeness  to  God 
(v.  45),  moral  distinction  among  men  (vv.  46,  47). 
"  Cultivate,"  said  the  Master,  '•  the  magnanimity  of  the 
Father  in  heaven,  and  rise  superior  to  average  liuman 
morality."  Enough  has  been  said  on  the  former  part 
of  the  admonition  in  another  chapter  ;  ^  a  little  com- 
ment on  the  latter  part  may  here  be  offered.  Very 
noteworthy  is  Christ's  desire  that  His  disciples  should 
be  morally  distinguished  :  '^  If  ye  salute  your  brethren 
only,  what  do  ye  more  than  others,"  asks  He,  as  if  the 
right  and  proper  thing  were  that  they  should  do  more. 
What  do  ye  more,  or  what  do  ye  that  is  excellent, 
exceptionally  good  !  Jesus  will  not  have  His  men  be 
moral  mediocrities,  content  with  a  virtue  not  beyond 
the  reach  of  publicans  and  Pagans  who  are  credited 
with  readiness  to  love  those  that  love  them  and  be 
kindly  affectioned  towards  kinsfolk.  His  expectations 
are  great.  His  demands  high  ;  on  the  first  blush  one 
might  say  mercilessly  high.  Hear  what  He  says  to 
these  disciples  on  the  hill :  "  Have  nothing  in  common 
with  scribes  and  Pharisees,  their  righteousness  is 
naught;  do  all  that  the  average  publican  and  Pagan 
does  in  the  way  of  reciprocity,  and  a  great  deal  more  ; 
let  neither  the  religious,  nor  the  irreligious  Jew,  nor 
the  best  of  Gentiles  be  your  model.  If  ye  will  have  a 
standard,  let  it  be  God.  Be  ye  perfect,  as  your  Father 
in  heaven  is  perfect."  Too  liigh  to  be  attainable  do 
^  Vide  chap,  viii. 


THE   MORAL   IDEAL  193 

you  say  ;  too  high  to  be  even  taken  seriously  ?  Nay, 
the  loftiness  of  this  moral  ideal  is  its  cliarm  and  its 
power.  It  is  vulgar,  low-pitched  moral  ideals  that  fail. 
They  do  not  command  respect,  they  make  their  appeal 
to  the  lower  side  of  our  nature,  to  self-interest  and  pru- 
dence ;  they  lack  the  power  to  awaken  enthusiasm  in 
any  human  being.  The  lofty  unearthly  ideal  of  Jesus 
Christ  on  the  other  hand  makes  its  appeal  distinctly, 
exclusively,  and  confidently  to  the  heroic  element  that 
slumbers  in  every  man.  It  speaks  to  us  in  words 
charged  with  the  subtle  charm  of  poetry,  or  with  the 
spirit-stirring  power  of  military  music.  It  arouses 
enthusiasm,  it  transforms  timid  men  into  brave  soldiers 
ready  to  fight  without  thought  of  fear,  it  makes  sinful 
men  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature,  ca23able  of  moral- 
ity Godlike  in  quality,  if  not  perfect  in  degree.  And 
wherein  lies  the  personal  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
bind  human  hearts  to  Him  in  devoted  love  and  heroic 
service  ?  In  this,  that  He  realised  His  own  ideal.  He 
was  indeed  perfect  as  God  is  perfect,  and  in  being  this 
He  left  all  His  disciples,  even  such  an  one  as  St.  Paul, 
hopelessly  behind.  But  the  Divine  loftiness  of  His 
character  does  not  remove  Him  beyond  reach  of  our 
sympathy.  We  do  not  lose  interest  in  Him  because 
He  is  so  much  better  than  we  are.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  by  His  excellence,  by  the  rl  7r€piaa6v,  that  He 
draws  us.  He  is  to  our  hearts  the  imitable  inimi- 
table, holding  us  at  once  by  aspiration  and  by  admira- 
tion. 

Among  the  things  which  Luke  has  retained  in  his 
report  of  the  hill  discourse,  otherwise  greatly  curtailed, 
o 


194  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

are  the  law  of  reciprocity,^  the  warning  against  judg- 
ing,2  and  the  precept  to  forgive.^  Doubtless  they  owe 
their  preservation  in  his  pages  to  their  perceived  affin- 
ity with  the  royal  law  of  love.  The  Golden  Rule  finds 
its  strongest  expression  in  Matthew's  version.  "  There- 
fore all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them."*  But  even  in  the 
weakened  form  of  Luke,  "  as  ye  would  tliat  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  also  to  them  likewise,"  the  rule  pre- 
serves its  uniqueness  as  compared  with  any  similar 
apothegm  in  the  religious  literature  of  the  world. 
For  the  peculiarity  of  Christ's  form  of  the  rule  is  that 
it  is  expressed  in  positive  not  in  negative  terms,  as  in  all 
other  known  instances.  Rabbi  Hillel  quoted  with  ap- 
proval, as  summing  up  the  whole  law,  this  sentiment 
from  the  book  of  Tohit,  "Do  to  no  one  what  you  hate." 
Confucius,  the  Chinese  sage,  living  six  centuries  before 
Christ,  said :  "  Do  not  to  others  what  you  would  not 
wish  done  to  yourself."  These  and  the  like  negative 
maxims  move  in  the  region  of  justice.  But  the  posi- 
tive counsel  of  our  Lord  takes  us  into  the  wider  region 
of  generosity.  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you  "  is  capable  of  a  very  wide  range  of  applica- 
tion. We  may  desire  men  to  do  for  us  ex  gratia  many 
things  which  we  cannot  legally  demand  :  to  stretch  out 
a  helping  hand  to  us  at  a  severe,  perilous  crisis  in  our 
lives,  to  speak  a  word  for  us  when  we  are  misunderstood 
and  maligned,  to  give  us  food  and  harbour  when  we  are 
fleeing  for  our  lives,  a  Claverhouse  perchance  on  our 

1  Ltike  vi.  31.  2  itiA:e  vi.  37. 

3  Luke  vi.  37.  *  Matt.  vii.  12. 


THE    MORAL    IDEAL  195 

track.  In  short  the  Golden  Rule  as  Jesus  put  it  pre- 
scribes not  merely  just,  but  magnanimous,  benignant, 
heroic  behaviour  towards  our  fellow-men  after  tlie  pat- 
tern set  by  Himself. 

The  counsel  "  Judge  not "  Luke  might  have  been 
tempted  to  omit  as  a  remnant  of  the  antipharisaic 
polemic,  for  the  Pharisees  were  prone  to  the  vice  of 
censoriousness,  and  there  was  doubtless  a  mental  refer- 
ence to  them  in  the  admonition  as  originally  given. 
But  He  knew  doubtless  that  judging  was  not  confined 
to  Pharisees,  but  was  apt  to  make  its  appearance  even 
in  Christian  brotherhoods,  as  James  also  knew  when  he 
wrote  :  "-  Speak  not  evil  one  of  another,  brethren.  He 
that  speaketh  evil  of  his  brother,  and  judgeth  his 
brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the  law."^  This  vice  has 
played  a  portentous  baleful  part  in  the  Church's  his- 
tory, and  made  the  religion  of  Jesus,  as  exhibited  by 
many,  wear  the  aspect  of  Pharisaism  redivivus.  Even 
within  the  bosom  of  ''  reformed "  Churches  there  has 
now  and  then,  here  and  there,  appeared  a  conceited 
pietism  which  has  been  very  conscious  of  its  own 
superior  goodness,  and  prone  not  only  to  judge  others 
to  be  irregenerate,  but  even  to  separate  themselves  from 
the  common  herd  of  Christians  as  not  worthy  to  asso- 
ciate with  the  people  of  God.  And,  alas,  the  members 
of  the  self-constituted  coteries  of  spiritual  exquisites 
are  too  often  not  by  any  means  so  holy  as  they  pre- 
tend. The  judgers  are  found  out,  and  justly  judged 
in  turn  :  perceived  by  the  healthy  conscience  of  the 
Christian  community  to  be  pretenders  who  have  a  beam 
1  James  iv.  11. 


196  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

in  their  own  eye,  while  they  busy  themselves  with  de- 
tecting motes  in  the  eye  of  a  brother.  This  censori- 
ousness  of  a  morbid,  self-deceived  piety  is  often  a 
characteristic  of  crude  inexperienced  religious  profes- 
sion, and  as  such  it  is  to  be  borne  with.  But  in  no 
case  is  it  to  be  tamely  submitted  to,  as  if  those  who 
practise  the  vice  were  privileged  persons  who  must  be 
allowed  to  say  and  do  what  they  please.  The  preten- 
sions of  such  should  be  treated  as  ridiculous,  as  a  blot 
on  the  Christian  name,  as  utterly  alien  from  the  spirit 
of  Christ.  Judging  is  one  of  the  chief  offences  against 
the  law  of  brotherly  love,  all  the  more  heinous  that  it 
is  committed  in  the  name  of  religion  and  under  the 
supposed  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  Forgive,  and  ye  shall  be  forgiven,"  adds  Luke  ;  or, 
as  it  stands  in  the  Revised  Version  :  "  Release  and  ye 
shall  be  released."  Presumably  the  reference  is  to 
moral  offences,  and  the  counsel  in  question  is  Luke's 
equivalent  for  the  comment  appended  to  the  fifth  peti- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  Matthew's  version  :  "■  If 
ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly  Father 
will  also  forgive  you."^  The  principle  involved  is 
obviously  a  strong  buttress  to  the  law  of  brotherly 
love.  And  Christians  concerned  for  their  own  spirit- 
ual well-being  will  do  wisely  to  lay  the  principle  to 
heart,  and  to  take  it  in  its  broad,  plain  sense,  without 
theological  refinements.  So  also  with  kindred  moral 
sentences  such  as  :  "  Judge  not  and  ye  shall  not  be 
judged," 2  or  that  of  St.  Paul:  "If  we  Avould  judge 
ourselves,  we  should  not  be  judged  ;  "  ^  or  that  other 
1  Matt.  vi.  15.  2  Matt.  vii.  1.  ^  1  Cor.  xi.  31. 


THE   MORAL   IDEAL  197 

sajdng  of  our  Lord  :  "  He  that  humbleth  himself  shall 
be  exalted.  1  Take  all  these  scriptural  sentiments  as 
broad  enunciations  of  great  laws  of  the  moral  world, 
operating  as  surely  as  the  law  of  gravitation  in  the 
physical  world.  If  this  be  indeed  so,  how  much  we 
have  in  our  power  !  Judge  not  others,  judge  yourself, 
humble  yourself,  be  ready  to  forgive,  and  your  own 
pardon  and  salvation  are  sure.  You  are  a  child  of 
God,  a  true  son  of  the  Father  in  heaven,  a  genuine 
disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  will  be  well  with 
you  here  and  in  all  worlds,  now  and  for  evermore. 

1  Luke  xviii.  14. 


CHAPTER   XI 


THE   CROSS    IN    SIGHT 


From  the  didactic  calm  of  the  mountain  retreat  to 
the  mental  tension  and  moral  pathos  of  the  northern 
Avandering  it  is  a  long  way.  At  the  earlier  time 
many  themes  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Master 
and  His  disciples,  —  themes  kindred,  doubtless,  yet  dis- 
tinct :  God,  Man,  Righteousness,  Prayer.  Now  one 
topic  fills  the  mind  of  the  Master  at  least,  if  not  of 
His  followers :  the  Cross,  clearly  visible  to  Him  above 
the  spiritual  horizon,  and  never  henceforth  out  of  His 
view.  And  the  mood  and  mode  of  speech  vary  with 
the  altered  situation.  Then  Jesus  was  the  Teacher 
in  His  school  wearing  a  contemplative  look,  handling 
all  subjects  as  matters  of  theor}^  discussing  even  the 
righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  in  a  scien- 
tific rather  than  in  a  controversial  spirit.  Now  He 
is  the  Prophet  with  a  vision  of  doom  staring  Him 
in  the  face,  and  filling  His  soul  with  solemn  feeling. 
He  speaks  as  one  whose  time  is  short  to  men  whom 
He  would  prepare  for  a  final  crisis,  in  tones  thrilling 
with  emotion. 

The  disciples  never  could  forget  the  time  and  place 
when  and  where  their  Master  began  first  to  speak  to 

198 


THE   CROSS    IN   SIGHT  199 

them  in  plain  unmistakable  terms  concerning  His 
death.  The  vividness  of  their  recollection  has  left 
its  mark  on  the  evangelic  tradition.  The  Evangelists 
are  not  uniformly  careful  to  indicate  the  localities  of 
the  incidents  they  relate,  but  two  of  them  distinctly 
mention  whereabouts  it  was  that  Jesus  first  spoke 
the  fateful  word,  "  The  Son  of  man  must  suffer  many 
things."^  There  was  no  affinity  between  the  topic  and 
the  town,  but  it  was  near  Csesarea  Philippi  that  the 
beloved  Master  began  so  to  speak,  and  therefore  the 
fact  must  be  mentioned ;  every  feature  in  the  scene 
indelibly  imprinted  on  the  memory  must  be  faith- 
fully reproduced.  So  Peter  would  feel  when  he  had 
occasion  to  tell  the  pathetic  story,  and  the  realism  of 
the  eye-witness  has  been  faithfully  preserved  in  the 
pages  of  Mark,  whence  it  found  its  way  into  Matthew. 
The  omission  of  the  name  in  the  Third  Gospel  is  one  of 
several  indications  of  the  secondary  character  of  his 
account. 2 

An  announcement  like  that  which  gave  a  shock  of 
surprise  to  the  Twelve  as  they  journeyed  towards 
Csesarea  Philippi  was  not  likely  to  be  made  once 
only.  If  we  may  say  so  with  reverence,  Jesus  could 
not  help  speaking  again  and  again  of  a  matter  which 
lay  so  near  His  heart.  Then  iteration  was  necessary 
for  the  sake  of  the  disciples.  A  wise  Master  repeats 
his  lessons  even  when  the  truths  communicated  are 
of  a  theoretical  nature ;  how  much  more  will  he 
deem  repetition  needful  when  the  subject  of  instruc- 
tion is  a  fact  which  must  vitally  affect  conduct.  A 
1  Matt.  xvi.  13  ;   Mark  viii.  27.         2  ^,,^.g  jx.  18. 


200  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

crisis  is  at  hand  which  for  good  or  for  evil  will  form 
the  turning  point  in  the  lives  of  these  men ;  how 
necessary  to  impress  the  fact  upon  them  in  good 
time  by  all  possible  means,  even  if  it  were  by  monot- 
onous re-statement  over  and  over  and  over  again. 
Jesus  did  not  hesitate  to  have  recourse  to  this  device, 
and  that  circumstance  also  impressed  itself  indelibly 
on  the  minds  of  Peter  and  his  companions,  as  the 
Evangelic  Records  show.  Three  several  predictions 
of  the  Passion  are  reported  by  the  Evangelists,  even 
by  Luke,  who  usually  avoids  repetition  of  incidents. ^ 
Monotony  is  relieved  by  new  features  introduced  into 
each  successive  announcement,  as  the  picture  became 
clearer  to  the  Prophet's  eye,  or  with  prudent  regard 
to  what  the  disciples  could  bear.  First  the  general 
announcement  is  made  that  the  Son  of  man  must  go 
to  Jerusaleni  to  suffer  many  things  at  the  hands  of 
the  rulers  of  Israel  and  be  killed  ;  next  the  ominous 
hint  is  given  that  He  is  to  be  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  His  murderers ;  then  finally  some  harrow- 
ing details  are  added  as  to  the  "  many  things  "  to  be 
endured,  with  an  accompanjdng  intimation  that  the 
Gentile  authorities  are  to  have  a  hand  in  the  tragedy. 
But  more  than  announcement  was  necessary ;  in- 
struction, to  help  men  to  whom  the  harsh  intolerable 
fact  was  bluntly  stated  to  comprehend,  and  in  some 
measure  to  accept,  the  awful  situation.  It  may  be 
taken  for  granted  that  Jesus  did  everything  that  was 

.  1  The  first  in  Matt.  xvi.  21,  Mark  viii.  31,  Lnke  ix.  21  ;  the  second 
in  Matt.  xvii.  22,  23,  Mark  ix.  30-32,  Luke  ix.  43-45;  the  third  in 
Matt.  XX.  17-19,  3{ark  x.  32-34,  Luke  xviii.  31-34. 


THE    CROSS    IN    SIGHT  201 

possible  for  this  purpose,  not  contenting  Himself  with 
stating  on  His  prophetic  authority,  So  it  shall  be, 
but  endeavouring  to  make  it  clear  by  all  available 
lines  of  thought  why  it  so  must  be ;  thus  adding 
teaching  to  prophesying.  From  the  Evangelic  Records 
we  gather  that  teaching  and  prophesying  were  com- 
bined from  the  tirst.  Jesus,  they  report,  "began  to 
teach  them  that  the  Son  of  man  must  suffer."  ^  This 
"  must ''  (Sei)  covers  much  more  than  the  fact :  its 
inevitableness,  as  the  unavoidable  natural  effect  of 
causes  that  were  actually  at  work,  its  correspondence 
to  what  Old  Testament  history  and  prophecy  might 
lead  one  to  expect,  its  congruity  with  the  laws  of 
the  spiritual  world,  or  its  litness  as  an  event  taking 
its  place  in  the  moral  order  of  the  universe  under 
the  Providence  of  God.  That  all  these  points  of  view 
were  present  to  Christ's  own  mind  we  cannot  doubt. 
Whether  He  would  discuss  them  all  with  His  dis- 
ciples would  depend  on  His  estimate  of  their  capacity 
to  understand.  The  probability  is  that  while  some 
of  His  thoughts  He  made  no  attempt  to  communi- 
cate, there  were  others  bearing  on  each  aspect  of  the 
"must"  which  He  deemed  it  expedient  to  utter.  On 
the  leaven  of  the  scribes  against  which  He  had  warned 
His  disciples  at  the  starting  of  the  memorable  journe}^ 
He  might  expatiate  with  hope  of  being  understood, 
referring  to  past  experiences  in  illustration  of  its  ma- 
lignant character.  To  the  copious  references  in  the 
Old  Testament  to  sufferings  endured  by  the  righteous. 
He  might  allude  with  reasonable  expectation  that  they 
1  Mark  viii.  30. 


202  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

would  enable  the  disciples  to  perceive  that  tribulation 
overtaking  one  who  had  not  deserved  ill  at  men's  hands 
was  after  all  no  strange  unheard-of  thing.  On  these 
aspects  of  the  subject,  therefore,  it  may  be  assumed 
that  He  spoke,  though  the  records  contain  very  scanty 
indications  of  the  fact.  The  ethical  rationale  of  the 
Passion,  the  bearing  of  the  "  must "  on  the  moral  order 
of  the  world,  is  much  the  most  abstruse  phase  of  the 
problem,  and  it  would  not  have  surprised  us  if  the 
Gospel  had  not  contained  a  single  saying  of  Jesus 
bearing  on  that  recondite  topic.  And  yet  on  the  other 
hand,  if  we  find  in  their  pages  words  touching  thereon, 
reported  as  spoken  by  Jesus  to  His  disciples  in  those 
last  days,  we  do  not  receive  their  report  incredulously ; 
for,  as  already  said,  the  presumption  is  that  the  Master 
would  do  all  in  His  power  to  make  His  followers  com- 
prehend the  situation  on  all  its  sides. 

Two  sayings  bearing  on  the  rationale  of  the  Passion 
are  reported  as  having  been  uttered  by  Jesus,  one  in 
connection  with  the  first  announcement  of  its  approach, 
the  other  in  connection  with  the  sons-of-Zebedee  in- 
cident which  followed  closely  on  the  third.  On  the 
former  occasion.  Jesus,  according  to  the  accounts  of 
Matthew  and  ^Nlark,  having  in  view  the  opposition  of 
Peter,  said  to  all  present,  including  the  Twelve :  "  Who- 
soever will  come  after  me  let  him  deny  himself  and 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me."  In  the  circum- 
stances the  word  meant  that  His  predicted  suffering, 
so  far  from  being  an  improbable  or  absurd  suggestion, 
the  bare  mention  of  which  was  an  outrage  on  right 
feeling,  was  simply  the  exemplification  of  a  universal 


THE    (JlvOSS    IN    SIGHT  203 

law  applicable  to  all  who  were  minded  as  He  was  to 
devote  themselves  with  singleness  of  heart  to  the 
Divine  interest.  Thus  interpreted,  the  saying  was 
not  fitted  to  make  the  coming  fate  of  the  Master 
greatly  more  bearable  to  discij^les  as  a  matter  of  ex- 
perience, for  there  is  not  much  comfort  in  the  thought : 
I  must  suffer,  and  you,  if  loyal,  must  all  suffer  along 
with  me.  But  it  <lid  tend  in  some  measure  to  make 
the  Master's  sufferings  more  intelligible  as  a  matter 
of  theory.  It  is  always  a  satisfaction  to  the  intellect 
when  a  fact  is  taken  out  of  a  position  of  isolation 
and  brought  under  the  sway  of  a  general  principle. 
That  the  disciples  fully  comprehended  the  scope  of 
the  reflection  is  not  likely,  but  they  would  not  fail 
to  be  struck  with  it,  and  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that  they  remembered  it  long  after.  There  is  not 
the  least  ground  for  doubting  the  authenticity  of  the 
saying.  The  reference  to  the  cross  is  no  reason  for 
suspicion,  for  the  mode  of  punishment  it  represented 
would  be  familiar  to  all  Jews  then  living,  and  it  might 
be  referred  to  by  Jesus,  even  without  prescience  of 
the  manner  in  which  He  Himself  was  to  suffer  death, 
simply  as  the  emblem  of  a  cruel  and  humiliating  ex- 
perience. It  makes  for  the  historicity  of  the  saying 
that  the  idea  it  embodies  is  etJiicah  not  theological. 
One  can  understand  people  living  in  the  apostolic  age, 
and  especially  such  as  were  familiar  Avith  Pauline  doc- 
trine, imputing  to  the  Lord  Jesus  words  expressive  of 
the  theological  significance  of  His  death,  as  a  unique 
event  demanding  an  explanation  peculiar  to  itself. 
Such  was  the  way  in  which  the  apostle  Paul  viewed 


204  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

the  matter.  But  such  is  not  the  view  embodied  in 
the  saying  in  question.  The  event  to  be  explained 
is  not  regarded  as  isolated,  and  the  theory  under  which 
it  and  the  whole  class  of  events  to  which  it  belongs  is 
brought,  moves  in  the  region  of  ethics,  not  of  theology. 
In  effect  the  doctrine  taught  is  that  all  the  godl}^  must 
suffer  persecution.  That  doctrine  the  apostolic  Church 
understood,  but  it  was  not  in  terms  of  it  that  believers 
were  wont  to  express  their  thought  concerning  the 
meaning  of  Christ's  death.  The  saying  now  under 
consideration,  therefore,  Avas  not  an  importation  into 
the  Gospels,  but  a  genuine  reminiscence  of  the  first 
lesson  taught  by  the  Lord  concerning  the  significance 
of  His  Passion. 

It  is  a  very  important  lesson  which  must  form  the 
broad  ethical  foundation  of  all  theological  superstruct- 
ures that  aspire  to  abiding  validity.  There  may  be 
some  respects  in  which  the  death  of  Christ  is  singular, 
but  there  are  also  respects  in  which  it  belongs  to  a  class 
of  facts  in  the  moral  world.  These  common  aspects 
cannot  be  overlooked  without  vitiating  effect  on  theo- 
logical theory.  To  the  category  belongs,  suffering  for 
righteoiiS7iess'  sake.  That  Jesus  so  suffered  is  certain, 
and  that  in  this  He  has  had  many  companions  is  not 
less  so.  To  see  the  likeness,  however,  it  is  necessary 
to  keep  before  our  minds  the  most  salient  instances. 
With  reference  to  many  disciples  of  the  great  Master 
it  seems  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  their  lot  is  to  bear 
a  cross,  in  any  sense  worthy  of  the  name.  You  must 
think  of  the  exceptionally  faithful  men,  the  moral 
heroes  of  history,  the  prophets,  apostles,  martyrs,  and 


THE    CROSS    IN    SIGHT  205 

confessors,  to  be  fully  convinced  of  the  sober  truth  of 
the  doctrme  taught  at  Ctesarea  Philippi.  If  you  take 
it  as  appljdng  to  all  who  at  any  distance  follow  Christ, 
then  you  must  either  view  it  as  an  over-statement,  or 
you  must  conceive  the  cross,  not  as  the  emblem  of  great 
critical  tribulations,  but  rather  as  the  symbol  of  the 
pett}^  troubles  that  constantly  befall  those  who  try, 
however  imperfectly,  to  live  a  good  life. 

The  latter  alternative  was  adopted  by  Luke.  The 
introduction  into  the  saying  of  the  word  "  daily "  ^ 
makes  all  the  difference.  Luke's  version  of  the  first 
lesson  is  manifestly  secondary  in  this  respect,  and 
indeed  in  all  respects.  His  omission  of  the  opposition 
and  consequent  rebuke  of  Peter  removes  the  link  con- 
necting the  cross  of  the  Master  with  the  cross  of  the 
disciple  as  belonging  to  the  same  moral  category.  In 
representing  the  word  of  the  cross  as  spoken  to  all,  he 
suggests  the  experience  of  the  many,  rather  than  that 
of  the  few  as  the  spliere  of  its  verification.  In  repre- 
senting cross-bearing  as  a  daily  business,  he  withdraws 
our  attention  from  those  rare  and  capital  instances  of 
suffering  on  account  of  rigliteousness  which  justify  the 
term  "  cross,"  and  broadly  exemf)lify  the  truth  of  the 
law.  In  keeping  with  this  treatment  of  Christ's  mem- 
orable word  to  His  disciples  is  his  manner  of  dealing 
with  the  whole  incident  of  which  it  forms  a  part.  His 
narrative,  up  to  the  point  at  which  He  introduces  it, 
does  not  prepare  us  for  so  solemn  a  declaration.  We 
see  no  reason  why  Jesus  should  just  then  begin  to  speak 
about  His  Passion.  Luke's  omissions,  e.g.^  of  the  en- 
1  Luke  ix.  23. 


206  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

counter  with  the  Pharisees  in  respect  to  ceremonial 
ablutions,  and  of  their  demand  for  a  sign,  hide  from 
readers  the  causes  that  were  steadily  working  towards 
a  tragic  issue.  Therefore  the  intimation  that  such  an 
issue  was  inevitable  comes  upon  us  as  a  surprise  almost 
as  much  as  it  came  upon  the  disciples.  In  Luke's 
conception  of  the  Set  the  view  of  our  Lord's  death  as 
the  effect  of  causes  that  were  in  operation  all  through 
His  public  career  had  little  or  no  place.  He  seems  to 
have  thought  chiefly,  if  not  exclusivel}',  of  the  necessity 
that  Old  Testament  prophecy  should  be  fulfilled. 

More  remarkable,  because  expressing  a  less  familiar 
thought,  is  the  second  contribution  Jesus  made  towards 
a  theory  of  the  Passion:  "  The  Son  of  man  came  not  to 
be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His 
life  a  ransom  for  many."^  It  sets  the  approaching 
event  in  a  new  and  brighter  light,  as  not  merely  a 
disaster  overtaking  Jesus  because  His  public  conduct, 
however  loyal  to  God,  has  aroused  deadly  hostility 
among  the  religious  leaders  of  Israel,  but  as  a  source 
of  benefit  to  many  men.  Jesus  here  conceives  His 
death,  not  as  a  fate,  but  as  a  service,  the  supreme  illus- 
tration of  the  truth  that  the  Son  of  man  came  not  to 
be  served  but  to  serve.  From  the  connection  in  which 
the  thought  is  introduced,  indeed,  it  is  clear  that  the 
Speaker  expects  ultimate  benefit  to  Himself  from  this 
extraordinary  service.  It  is  the  way  he  takes  to  the 
place  of  sovereign.  By  lowly  service  He  expects  to 
become  the  greatest.  But  it  is  a  roundabout  way. 
The  many  will  serve  Him  because  they  are  conscious 
1  Matt.  XX.  28  ;  Mark  x.  45. 


THE   CROSS   IN   SIGHT  207 

He  has  made  them   His   debtors  by  His    ministering 
life  and  death. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  genuineness  of  this 
great  word.  It  fits  the  situation,  and  admirably  crowns 
the  discourse  of  Jesus  to  His  disciples  concerning  the 
true  way  to  greatness.  Its  originality  and  grandeur 
guarantee  its  authenticity.  Then  it  was  to  be  expected 
that  Jesus  would,  both  for  His  own  comfort  and  for 
the  consolation  of  His  disciples,  do  His  utmost  to  invest 
the  harsh  fact  of  His  death  with  "  poetic,  mystic,  spirit- 
ual meanings,"  to  put  a  bright  optimistic  face  on  a 
dark  pessimistic  outlook.  This  had  been  His  way  all 
along ;  His  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood  was  a 
signal  example  of  His  will  and  power  to  introduce  sun- 
shine into  the  darkest  experiences  of  life.  It  may  be 
taken  for  granted  that  the  happy  habit  of  mind  which 
asserted  itself  so  triumphantly  in  the  admonition 
against  care  in  the  Hill  Teaching,  would  not  desert 
Him  when  His  own  hour  of  trial  came.  He  would 
know  how  to  transmute  a  supreme  evil  into  a  supreme 
good,  and  to  deck  His  cross  with  flowers.  We  see 
Him  engaged  in  this  very  work  at  this  time  when  He 
gives  to  His  approaching  sufferings  the  poetic  names 
of  a  cup  and  a  baptism.  Why  should  He  not  also  call 
it  a  ransom?  That  word  doubtless  has  to  our  ear  a 
theological  rather  than  a  poetic  sound,  and  may  suggest 
the  doubt:  have  we  not  in  this  term  and  in  the  whole 
saying  in  which  it  occurs,  a  tJieologoumenon  of  the  apos- 
tolic age  put  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus  ?  The  absence 
of  the  saying  from  Luke's  pages,  in  which  the  whole 
Sons-of-Zebedee  incident  has  no  place,  might  be  cited 


208  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

in  justification  of  tlie  doubt.  It  is  sucli  a  use  of  the 
third  Evangelist's  omissions  that  induces  me  to  take 
pains  to  point  out  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  true 
characteristics  of  His  presentation  of  the  evangelic 
story.  I  maintain  that  when  these  are  properly  under- 
stood this  particular  omission  ceases  to  have  any  value 
as  an  argument  against  the  liistoricity  of  the  Ransom 
Logion.  And  to  make  this  as  clear  as  possible  I  here 
remark  that  Luke's  Gospel  is,  by  comparison  with  the 
other  two  Synoptists,  very  deficient  in  material  bearing 
on  the  significance  of  Christ's  death.  The  first  lesson 
on  the  subject  already  considered  is  so  altered  by  him 
that  we  hardly  recognise  it  as  a  lesson.  The  second 
contained  in  the  Ransom  Logion  is  wholly  omitted. 
The  third  lesson  also,  that  taught  in  connection  with 
Mary's  vase  of  ointment,  by  the  suggestion  that  her  act 
in  anointing  Jesus  and  His  act  in  dying  were  to  be  for- 
ever associated  together  as  of  kindred  nature^  —  this 
too  is  wanting  in  the  Third  Gospel,  the  whole  story 
being  passed  over.  The  only  thing  that  remains  is 
the  fourth  lesson  contained  in  the  words  spoken  by 
Jesus  at  the  institution  of  the  Supper:  "This  cup  is 
the  New  Testament  in  my  blood  which  is  shed  for  you.''' 
Li  the  judgment  of  experts  in  New  Testament  criticism, 
it  is  very  doubtful  whether  even  these  words  had  any 
place  in  the  true  text  of  Luke.  Li  their  edition  of  the 
Greek  Testament,  Westcott  and  Hort  enclose  within 
double  brackets  all  that  follows  "•  This  is  my  body  "  in 
Luke  xxii.  19,  with  the  whole  of  the  following  verse, 
ending  with  the  words  above  quoted.  Other  well- 
1  Matt.  xxvi.  13  ;  Mark  xiv.  9. 


THE    CROSS    IN    SIGHT  209 

known  scholars  agree  with  them  in  thinking  that  Codex 
Bezae,  which  omits  the  passage,  here  preserves  the 
original  text,  and  that  the  Avords  left  out  in  that  Codex 
were  introduced  by  another  hand  from  St.  Paul's  ac- 
count of  the  institution  of  the  Supper  in  his  first  epistle 
to  the  Corinthians.  Into  this  critical  question  I  cannot 
here  enter,  nor  have  I  any  desire  to  pronounce  a  con- 
fident opinion  upon  it.  I  simply  remark  that  the 
omission  of  the  Ransom  Logion,  and  of  the  saying  con- 
cerning Mary  of  Bethany,  makes  the  omission  of  the 
bracketed  clauses  in  Luke's  report  of  the  institution  of 
the  Supper  less  improbable  than  it  might  otherwise 
appear.  Su^jposing  they  were  omitted,  what  would  be 
the  result?  This  rather  startling  one,  that  Luke's 
Gospel  would  not  contain  a  single  word  of  Jesus  that 
could  be  regarded  as  a  contribution  towards  explaining 
the  moral  or  theological  significance  of  His  death.  The 
Acts,  a  companion  work  to  the  Third  Gospel,  contains 
little  or  no  theology  of  the  cross.  Hence,  on  the  hypoth- 
esis in  question,  the  state  of  the  case  as  regards  Luke 
would  be  this:  that  throughout  his  writings  there  is  no 
trace  of  St.  Paul's  theory  of  atonement,  though  there  is 
abundant  evidence  of  warm  sympathy  with  the  Apostle's 
Christian  universalism.^  This  is  a  phenomenon  which 
calls  for  more  consideration  than  it  has  yet  received. 

Thus  far  of  the  prejudice  against  the  historicity  of 
this  saying  arising  from  its  omission  by  Luke.  It  re- 
mains to  offer  a   few  remarks  on  a   similar  prejudice 

1  The  words  "which  He  purchased  with  His  blood,"  in  St.  Paul's 
speech  to  the  Elders  of  Ephesus  (Acts  xx.  28),  contains  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  definite  theological  theory. 


210  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

created  by  its  apparently  theological  character.  Is  it 
credible,  one  may  ask,  that  so  definite  and  developed  a 
theological  theory  as  to  the  significance  of  our  Lord's 
death  could  come  from  the  lips  of  the  Lord  Himself  ? 
By  way  of  reply  the  previous  question  might  reasonably 
be  raised  :  Have  we  here  developed  theology,  or  even 
theology  at  all  ?  Is  the  word  "•  ransom  "  necessarily 
used  in  a  technical  theological  sense  exclusively  appli- 
cable to  the  death  of  Christ  ?  May  it  not  be  employed 
in  a  general  ethical  sense  applicable  to  all  whose  lives 
are  sacrificed  in  a  good  cause  with  more  or  less  benefi- 
cent effect  ?  In  a  recently  published  commentary  I 
find  this  comment  on  the  passage  :  ^  All  that  is  re- 
quired by  the  statement,  not  in  the  way  of  minimizing 
it,  but  to  fill  out  its  meaning  is,  that  his  life  becomes 
the  price  by  which  men  are  freed  from  their  bondage. 
The  soldiers  in  the  American  civil  war  gave  their 
lives  as  a  Xvrpov  for  the  slaves,  and  every  martyr's 
death  is  a  Xvrpov.  There  may  be  more  than  this  involved 
in  the  deatli  of  the  Redeemer,  but  more  than  this  is 
not  involved  in  His  words  here."^  This,  to  men 
accustomed  to  the  developed  theories  of  dogmatic 
theology,  may  seem  a  very  meagre  interpretation,  but  it 
is  a  perfectly  legitimate  one,  and  the  idea  it  finds  in  the 
text  is  true  as  far  as  it  goes,  and  apposite  to  the  connec- 
tion of  thought.  And  when  the  historicity  of  the  say- 
ing is  in  question,  we  are  neither  bound  nor  entitled  to 
charge  its  terms  with  a  plethora  of  theological  mean- 

1  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Mark  by  Rev.  Ezra  P.  Gould,  S.T.D., 
ill  the  International  Critical  Commentary  published  by  Messrs.  T.  & 
T.  Clark,  Edinburgh,  and  Messrs.  Charles  Scribuer's  Sons,  New  York. 


THE    CROSS    IN    SIGHT  211 

ing  ;  we  may  and  must  understand  them  as  used  in  a 
natural,  spontaneous,  non-technical,  fluid  sense,  as  ex- 
pressing a  great  broad  truth  relating  to  the  moral  order 
of  the  world.  Such  a  truth  would  be  this  :  that  the 
moral  and  spiritual  progress  of  the  world  is  never  sig- 
nally advanced  without  sacrifice,  and  that  those  whose 
lot  it  is  to  make  the  needful  sacrifice  may  in  an  intelli- 
gible sense  be  said  to  lay  down  their  lives  a  ransom  for 
many.  The  question  may  of  course  be  raised:  What  is 
the  ultimate  reason  of  this  unquestionable  fact?  Why 
is  it  that  moral  progress  on  the  great  scale  is  so  costly, 
and  by  what  categories  of  thought  can  the  cost  be  best 
estimated  and  understood  ?  This  is  a  problem  for  theo- 
logians and  philosophers.  The  saying  ascribed  to  our 
Lord  sets  the  problem,  but  there  is  nothing  to  show 
that  He  meant  His  words  to  be  a  contribution  toAvards 
its  solution. 

From  the  faithful  narratives  of  the  Evangelists,  it 
appears  that  the  words  of  the  Master,  taken  even  in 
their  broadest  and  most  obvious  sense,  made  little  im- 
pression at  the  time  on  the  minds  of  His  disciples. 
They  soon  recovered  from  the  depression  caused  by 
sombre  anticipations,  and  with  the  buoyancy  of  children 
rebounded  to  congenial  light-mindedness.  That  a  crisis 
was  coming  they  believed,  but  they  hoped  it  would  be 
very  different  from  that  pointed  at  by  their  Master's 
gloomy  forebodings.  While  He  spake  of  a  cross  they 
dreamt  of  crowns,  and  vain  thoughts  awoke  ambitious 
passions  which  ended  in  unseemly  wranglings.  Hence 
Jesus  had  two  tasks  to  perform  in  those  last  months  : 
to  expound  under  its  varied  aspects   the    doctrine    of 


212  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

sacrifice,  and  to  discipline  the  unruly  tempers  of  His 
followers. 

Of  the  efforts  made  by  our  Lord  in  this  second  direc- 
tion the  Gospels  give  some  interesting  accounts.  The 
memorable  words  to  which  the  saying  last  considered 
belongs,  wherein  the  great  law,  distinction  to  be  at- 
tained by  service,  was  enunciated,  is  a  precious  sample 
of  the  sublime  schooling  to  which  the  Master  subjected 
His  scholars.  Thanks  to  James  and  John  and  their 
mother  for  creating,  through  their  foolish  aspiration,  a 
fitting  opportunity  for  the  utterance  of  such  never-to-be- 
forgotten  thoughts. 

This  was  not  the  first  lesson  of  the  kind  the  disciples 
had  received.  They  had  been  to  school  already  in 
Capernaum  just  after  their  return  from  the  excursion 
to  Ctesarea  Philippi.  For  on  the  way  home  they  had 
been  disputing  on  the  question:  Who  is  the  greatest? 
and  their  Master  had  felt  that  no  time  must  be  lost  in 
dealing  with  the  new  spirit  of  ambition  that  had  ap- 
peared among  them.  Mark's  account  reproduces  the 
scene  very  vividly  before  ns.  Jesus,  he  tells  us,  "  sat 
down  and  called  the  Twelve,"  ^  both  actions  betokening 
a  resolute  purpose  to  school  the  disciples  in  humility. 
The  Master  takes  His  seat,  the  teacher's  posture,  calls 
His  scholars  with  a  magisterial  tone,  calls  them  as  the 
Twelve,  destined  to  an  important  vocation  and  need- 
ing thorough  discipline  to  be  of  service  in  it.  Every- 
thing points  to  a  great  effort  lasting  probably  for  a 
considerable  time,  hours,  during  which  Jesus  doubtless 
gave  expression  to  many  weighty  thoughts,  all  serving 
1  Mark  ix.  35. 


THK    CROSS    IN    SIGHT  213 

the  same  general  purpose,  such  thoughts  as  we  find  re- 
ported with  greatest  fuhiess  in  Matthew's  Gospel. ^ 
It  is  conceivable  that  the  first  Evangelist  in  this  part 
of  his  narrative  follows  his  usual  method  of  grouping 
words  of  kindred  import  irrespective  of  their  historical 
connection.  But  there  is  nothing  in  the  chapter  which 
might  not  have  been  spoken  on  the  occasion  indicated 
in  the  opening  verse.  Full  as  Matthew's  report  is, 
even  he  has  not  given  all.  Luke  contributes  nothing 
peculiar  to  him,  his  account  being  very  meagre.  Mark, 
however,  has  preserved  a  very  remarkable  saying,  not 
found  in  Matthew's  record,  which  commends  itself  at 
once  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Capernaum  admoni- 
tion. It  is  the  Logion  concerning  Salting.'^  Part  of 
it :  "  Salt  is  good,  but  if  the  salt  have  lost  his  saltness, 
wherewith  will  ye  season  it  ?  "  is  found  in  other  connec- 
tions in  Matthew  and  Luke  (in  Matthew  v.  13  and  in 
Luke  xiv.  34,  35),  but  the  remainder  is  peculiar  to 
the  Second  Gospel.  The  passage  has  its  difficulties, 
critical  and  exegetical,  but  the  general  sense  is  plain. 
The  drift  is  :  "  Salting  in  some  form  is  inevitable,  in 
the  form  of  self-discipline  it  is  indispensable.  Every 
man  must  be  salted  somehow,  either  with  the  un- 
quenchable fire  of  gehenna  or  with  the  fire  of  severe 
self-sacrifice.  Wise  is  he  who  chooses  the  latter  alter- 
native. Without  salting  in  the  sense  of  self-discipline 
no  one  can  perform  the  function  of  being  a  salt  to  the 
world.  The  morally  undisciplined,  subject  to  ambi- 
tious desires,  are  a  salt  without  a  savour,  useless, 
worthless."  This  was  a  seasonable  thing  to  say  to 
1  Matt,  xviii,  2  j[/a,.A;  ix.  49-50. 


214  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

men  whose  vocation  was  to  be  Apostles  of  the  Christian 
religion.  It  pointed  to  a  character  thoroughly  purged 
from  selfish  passions  as  an  indispensable  condition  of 
future  usefulness  in  the  exercise  of  apostolic  functions. 
And  there  was  another  word  needed  for  the  present 
condition  of  the  disciple-circle  distracted  by  internal 
jealousies,  its  harmony  disturbed  by  the  dispute  about 
places  of  distinction.  They  could  not  afford  to  be  at 
war  among  themselves,  a  small  band  facing  a  hostile 
world.  Peace  was  indispensable.  How  was  it  to  be 
restored  and  maintained  ?  The  prescription  is  again, 
salting.  "  Have  salt  in  yourselves  and  be  at  peace  one 
with  another."  In  the  first  place  the  disciples  are 
thought  of  as  themselves  salt  for  the  world,  but  now 
they  are  viewed  as  the  subjects  of  the  salting  process. 
They  are  summoned  to  see  to  it  that  their  own  inward 
man  be  duly  salted,  in  order  that  they  may  be  able  to 
live  at  peace  among  themselves  and  avoid  farther  un- 
seemly wrangling.  And  as  it  was  ambition  that  led 
to  a  breach  of  the  peace,  so  the  salting  Avill  consist  in 
getting  rid  of  that  evil  spirit  at  all  hazards,  even  though 
it  should  mean  excision  of  an  offending  member.  This 
salting  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  cross-bearing 
of  faithful  disciples  of  which  Jesus  had  spoken  on  a 
previous  occasion.  Cross-bearing  is  the  tribulation 
that  comes  on  all  who  follow  closel}'  in  the  footsteps 
of  Christ.  Salting  is  the  discipline  of  self-denial  nec- 
essary to  make  a  man  a  follower  of  Christ  worthy  of 
the  name. 

When  we  think  of  all  the  stern  words  spoken  by  our 
Lord  at  this  time  to  His  chosen  companions,  we  are  as 


THE   CROSS    IN    SIGHT  215 

profoundly  impressed  with  the  intense  moral  earnest- 
ness of  the  Master  as  we  were  with  the  wisdom  of  the 
Teacher^  while  studying  the  doctrine  taught  on  the 
mountain-top.  The  Teaching  on  the  Hill  opened  with 
a  series  of  sentences  setting  forth  the  kind  of  men  who 
are  the  true  citizens  of  the  Kingdom  and  partakers  of 
its  blessedness.  Taken  in  the  abstract,  the  Beatitudes 
present  a  beautiful  object  of  mental  contemplation,  a 
poetic  ideal  whose  charm  is  unfading.  But  one  might 
expect  even  the  Divine  Artist  who  drew  the  fair  pict- 
ure to  be  content  with  something  short  of  the  ideal  in 
practice,  especially  in  the  case  of  His  own  followers. 
Yet  He  was  not.  He  meant  it  seriously,  and  expected 
all  who  were  about  Him  to  take  it  not  less  seriously. 
To  His  own  friends  He  said  :  "  Unless  ye  change,  and 
from  ambitious  men  striving  for  prominence  become  as 
the  children,  ye  shall  not  even  enter  the  Kingdom,  not 
to  speak  of  being  great  there.  ^  If  any  man,  even  if  it 
be  one  of  you,  in  his  pride  and  selfish  pursuit  of  his 
own  advancement,  despise  or  trample  under  foot  a 
'  little  one '  his  appropriate  doom  will  be  to  be  thrown 
with  a  heavy  millstone  round  his  neck  into  the  deepest 
part  of  the  sea.^  If  ye  be  not  placable,  ready  to  forgive 
from  the  heart  a  brother  who  has  offended,  my  heavenly 
Father  will  treat  you  as  the  King  in  the  parable  treats 
the  unmerciful  servant."^  How  uncompromising! 
What  a  passion  for  moral  purity  !  How  profound  the 
conviction  in  the  mind  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  without 
a  disciplined  spirit  thoroughly  schooled  into  the  virtue 
of  the  Kingdom  these  men  can  be  of  no  use,  and  that  a 
1  Matt,  xviii.  3.  2  j^^^tt.  xviii.  6.  3  jjfcf«.  xviii.  35. 


216  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

society  of  such  men  can  only  be  a  corrupt,  worthless 
community,  on  which  the  eye  of  the  Divine  Father  can- 
not rest  with  satisfaction.  Alas  !  organised  Christian- 
ity has  at  all  times  borne  too  close  a  resemblance  to  the 
disciple-circle  at  this  period.  Church  History  gives 
tragic  emphasis  to  the  counsel,  "  Have  salt  in  your- 
selves, and  have  peace  one  with  another."  Scandals, 
offences,  quarrels,  divisions  innumerable,  all  for  lack  of 
salt.  But  let  us  turn  from  the  humbling  story,  and  fix 
our  eyes  on  a  more  edifying  subject  of  contemplation. 
Let  the  weakness  of  disciples  serve  as  a  foil  to  the 
moral  strength  of  their  Master.  The  inner  history  of 
the  Jesus-circle  in  those  weeks  is  disenchanting  enough. 
There  is  a  traitor  in  the  camp,  who,  having  laid  the 
Master's  foreboding  of  danger  more  to  heart  than  the 
rest,  meditates  escape  from  an  ill-fated  brotherhood  by 
playing  false  to  its  Head.  Three  have  been  favoured 
by  being  chosen  for  special  companionship  with  the 
Master  during  a  season  of  retirement,  and  either  they 
grow  vain,  or  their  brother  disciples  become  jealous. 
Two  try  to  snatch  the  first  places  for  themselves,  and 
the  ten  are  indignant.  While  the  Master  inculcates 
kindness  to  the  little  ones.  His  scholars  have  to  confess 
an  act  of  arrogance  and  intolerance  committed  against 
one  who  had  given  no  just  cause  of  offence.^  How 
Jesus  towers  in  moral  grandeur  above  these  little  men 
whom  He  condescends  to  make  companions  !  Incapable 
of  disloyalty.  He  marches  straight  towards  His  doom. 
The  glories  of  the  hill  of  Transfiguration  do  not  dazzle 
His  eyes.  "  Tell  no  man  of  the  vision."  Primacy, 
1  Mark  ix.  38  ;  Luke  ix.  49. 


THE   CROSS   LN   SIGHT  217 

greatness,  is  not  His  watch-word,  but  Service  even 
unto  death.  Monopoly  receives  no  countenance  from 
Him :  "  Forbid  him  not !  "  Here  is  the  moral  sublime 
not  merely  touched  for  a  moment,  but  consistently 
sustained.  Christians  !  bow  in  lowly  reverence  before 
that  transcendent  character,  and  remember  that  ye  are 
worthy  of  your  name  in  proportion  as  the  mind,  the 
ethical  spirit  of  Jesus,  dwells  in  you.  That  spirit  is 
the  true  salt  which  promotes  peace,  and  conditions 
power.  The  moral  tone  of  a  Church  is  the  measure  of 
its  Christianity  and  of  its  spiritual  influence. 


CHAPTER   XII 

GETHSEMANE 

The  experience  of  our  Lord  in  the  Garden  was  a 
rehearsal  of  the  Passion.  In  that  hour  of  agony  He 
realised  in  thought  and  feeling  all  that  He  was  about 
to  suffer.  Privacy  is  the  privilege  of  such  as  pass 
through  deep  waters  of  soul-trouble,  and  reverence 
raises  a  monitory  finger,  protesting  against  intrusion. 
But  Jesus  took  three  with  Him  into  the  sacred  en- 
closure, and  through  them  all  the  world  has  been 
made  acquainted  with  the  solemn  scene.  The  sufferer 
did  not  desire  to  screen  Himself  from  observation. 
He  would  have  His  followers  see  Him  in  His  weak- 
ness as  well  as  in  His  strength.  He  was  not  ashamed 
of  His  human  infirmity,  nor  guided  by  a  false  pride 
whispering :  "  Let  no  mortal  man  see  me  with  a 
troubled  countenance."  He  counselled  and  practised 
secrecy  when  publicity  would  give  to  conduct  the 
aspect  of  a  theatrical  performance  meant  to  win  ap- 
plause, but  not  when  it  was  more  likely  to  bring 
reproach  than  praise.  Hide  your  good  deeds.  He 
said  to  His  disciples.  Hide  tears :  on  no  account 
allow  the  woman  in  you  to  appear,  He  did  not 
say.     Xor  did  He  act  on  this  stoical  maxim.      "  Jesus 

218 


GETHSEMANE  219 

wept"  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus.  He  let  it  be  known 
that  His  soul  was  "exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto 
death."  Sentimentality,  effeminacy,  had  no  place  in 
His  nature,  but  womanliness  had.  There  was  a  soft 
tender  woman  in  Him,  as  well  as  a  brave  heroic 
man,  and  He  was  content  that  all  that  was  in  Him 
should  be  known.  In  this  unreserved  self -manifesta- 
tion lies  the  truth  and  charm  of  His  character.  He 
has  nothing  to  hide.  He  can  afford  to  be  seen  through 
and  through  ;  the  exposure  of  that  which  men  are 
tempted  to  hide  only  heightens  our  admiration  and 
our  love.  Therefore  we  may  not  hesitate  to  consider 
what  is  recorded  of  our  beloved  Lord's  experience  in 
Gethsemane.  It  is  part  of  the  picture  presented  to 
our  view  in  the  mirror  of  the  Gospels,  and  it  com- 
pletes the  portraiture.  We  have  seen  Jesus  in  His 
zeal  as  an  evangelist,  in  His  benevolence  as  a  Healer, 
in  His  wisdom  as  a  Teacher,  in  His  faithfulness  as  a 
Master,  in  His  courage  as  the  foe  and  critic  of  a  false 
but  pretentious  and  tyrannical  pietism ;  it  is  well  that 
we  see  Him  finally  when  His  strength  seems  to  have 
gone  from  Him  and  He  is  become  like  any  other  man. 
It  will  help  us  to  realise  that  our  Saviour  was  indeed 
"  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are  —  yet  without 
sin." 

Another  view  of  the  matter  is  of  course  possible. 
The  infirmity  of  Christ's  humanity  is  wholly  free  from 
sin  in  reality  and  for  such  as  can  understand  it.  But 
apparently?  and  for  such  as  have  not  the  necessary 
spiritual  insight  to  appreciate  its  true  character  ?  Is 
there  not  a  risk  of  such  an  experience  as  that  in  the 


220  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

Garden  being  misunderstood?  Were  it  not  good, 
therefore,  to  throw  a  veil  over  it  by  total  omission 
or  qualified  report?  Let  the  agony  be  a  holy  mys- 
tery known,  if  at  all,  only  to  the  initiated.  Peter, 
James,  and  John  may  be  there,  but  let  them  keep 
what  they  see  and  hear  to  themselves. 

Some  such  feeling  seems  to  have  prevailed  in  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  primitive  Church.  Indications  are 
not  wanting  that  Luke's  account  of  the  incident  took 
its  shape  under  the  influence  of  a  prudent  reserve. 
These  will  be  pointed  out  in  due  course.  Meantime, 
our  attention  must  be  given  to  the  narratives  of 
Matthew  and  Mark  which  betray  the  influence  of 
the  other  view,  viz.,  that  there  was  something  tend- 
ing to  edification  to  be  learned  from  a  frank  recital 
of  what  befell  Jesus  during  the  liour  preceding  His 
apprehension.  The  general  features  of  the  story  are 
the  same  in  both ;  Mark's  version  is,  on  the  whole, 
the  most  realistic. 

The  essential  features  of  the  incident,  as  reported 
in  the  first  two  Gospels,  are  these  :  ^  From  the  supper 
chamber,  in  Jerusalem,  Jesus  goes  forth  towai'ds  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  accompanied  by  His  disciples.  On 
the  way,  the  shadow  of  the  cross  begins  to  fall  on 
His  spirit,  and  He  begins  to  speak  to  the  disciples 
of  the  panic  which  is  about  to  overtake  them.  They 
arrive  at  an  enclosed  property  called  Gethsemane ; 
probably  because  it  contained  an  oil  press.  He  bids 
the  outer  circle  of  eight  sit  down  there  and  wait 
His  return,  then  enters  the  garden,  taking  with  Him 
1  Matt.  xxvi.  36-45  :  3Ir(rk  xiv.  32-41. 


GETHSEMANE  221 

the  inner  circle  of  three  —  Peter,  James,  and  John  — 
bidding  them  halt  at  a  certain  point,  and  asking  them 
not  merely  to  wait,  but  to  watch  :  "  with  me,"  Matthew 
adds,  suggesting  a  desire  on  their  Master's  part  for 
their  sympathy  to  sustain  Him  through  the  crisis. 
While  giving  them  this  direction.  He  makes  a  full 
confession  of  His  mental  distress  :  "  My  soul  is  ex- 
ceeding sorrowful  even  unto  death."  The  access  of 
this  soul-sorrow  is  indicated  in  these  terms :  "  He 
began  to  be  sorrowful  and  very  heavy-hearted."  He 
began.  Jesus  had  long  known,  and  had  often  with 
realistic  plainness  spoken  of,  what  was  to  befall  Him. 
Yet  the  vivid  sense  of  what  it  all  meant  came  uj)on 
Him  at  this  time  as  an  appalling  revelation.  The 
beginning  referred  to  by  the  Evangelists  probably 
points  to  the  moment  at  which  distress  became  vis- 
ible. The  inward  beginning  came  earlier,  but  was 
concealed  till  the  following  had  been  reduced  to  three, 
when  Jesus  allowed  his  inward  state  to  appear  to  those 
who,  He  hoped,  might  be  able  to  bear  the  revela- 
tion and  give  Him  a  little  sympathy.  Mark's  descrip- 
tion of  the  on-coming  of  the  eclipse  is  very  strong. 
He  uses  three  descriptive  words  for  INIatthew's  two, 
one  being  peculiar  to  him.  Jesus  is  represented  as 
not  only  sorrowful  and  heavy-hearted,  but  amazed. 

Jesus  then  advances  further  into  the  garden,  falls 
all  His  length  on  the  ground,  and  begins  to  pray. 
Both  Evangelists  give  the  words  spoken,  with  slight 
variations,  Mark  prefixing  an  indication  of  its  gist, 
viz.^  that  "if  it  were  possible  the  hour  miglit  pass 
from    Him."      There     are     three     successive    acts    of 


222  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

prayer,  all  having  the  same  burden  :  if  it  be  possible 
let  the  cup  pass.  Between  the  acts  Jesus  comes  back 
to  the  three  disciples,  hoping  to  find  them  sympathet- 
ically watchful.  Instead  He  finds  them  asleep  the 
first  time,  and  again  the  second  time,  in  spite  of  His 
reproachful  word,  and  earnest  admonition  to  watch 
and  pray  for  themselves,  lest  they  be  overtaken  by 
sudden  temptation.  Returning  the  third  time  He 
bids  them  sleep  on  now  and  rest,  adding  according 
to  Mark:  "It  is  enough."  He  knew,  for  He  immedi- 
ately went  on  to  state,  that  the  moment  for  His  ap- 
prehension was  at  hand,  so  giving  to  the  permission 
to  sleep  an  ironical  meaning.  And  yet  it  was  not 
-..mere  irony.  It  meant,  "  You  may  sleep  on  now  with- 
out interruption  so  far  as  I  am  concerned.  I  no 
i/  longer  need  your  sympathetic  watchfulness,  I  have 
conquered  in  the  struggle,  I  am  prepared  to  meet 
the  hour  and  drink  the  cup." 

The  struggle  had  been  very  real  while  it  lasted. 
All  signs  point  to  an  even  tremendous  conflict  :  the 
craving  for  sympathy,  the  confession  of  mental  dis- 
tress, the  prostrate  attitude,  the  thrice  repeated 
prayer,  the  pressing  importunate,  "if  it  be  possible." 
Yet  what  room  for  struggle  in  a  mind  already 
made  up  ?  How  can  the  suppliant  conceive,  as  even 
abstractly  possible,  escajje  from  a  doom  which  months 
ago  He  clearly  perceived  and  openly  declared  to  be 
inevitable  ?  It  must  be,  Set,  He  had  said  again  and 
again  to  His  disciples.  And  had  He  not  taken  pains 
to  explain  to  them  the  grounds  of  the  "  must,"  en- 
larging   now    on    the    malice    of   the    scribes,  anon  on 


GETHSEMANE  228 

the  predictions  of  ancient  Psalmists  and  Prophets,  at 
another  time  on  the  facts  and  laws  of  the  moral 
world  ?  Has  the  wise  Teacher  forgot  His  own  in- 
structions ?  No,  but  it  is  one  thing  to  teach,  another 
to  apply  the  lesson  to  your  own  case  when  the  dark 
hour  of  trial  comes.  The  "must"  proclaimed  at 
Ccesarea  Philippi,  and  often  reiterated,  might  be 
rooted  in  the  wicked  purpose  of  the  scribes,  in  an- 
cient prophecy,  and  in  the  moral  order  of  the 
universe,  but  it  was  contrary  to  the  order  of  human 
nature,  which  rose  in  rebellion  against  that  trijDle 
necessity.  Scribes,  Prophets,  great  moral  laws  might 
cry  "  must "'  and  the  intellect  and  the  conscience  ac- 
knowledge the  truth  of  their  cry,  but  the  flesh  and 
the  sensitive  human  soul  recalcitrate,  and  in  His  dis- 
traction the  sufferer  can  but  exclaim  :  If  it  be  pos- 
sible !  And  this  is  not  the  first  time  He  has  felt  the 
painful  internal  conflict,  though  it  is  the  first  time 
He  has  allowed  it  to  appear.  That  stern  word  to 
Peter,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,"  shows  that  the 
struggle  was  on  Him  even  at  Ceesarea  Philippi.  The 
disciple's  "  this  shall  not  be  unto  thee  "  had  voiced  the 
instinctive  recoil  of  His  own  heart.  The  agony  in  the 
Garden  is  but  the  final  conflict  with  a  weakness  of 
which  the  Faithful  One  has  been  conscious  all  alono-. 

No  wonder  the  conflict  was  keen.  The  cup  Jesus 
had  to  drink  was  full  of  bitter  ingredients.  Death, 
death  in  youth,  death  by  injustice,  death  by  violence, 
death  in  a  form  horrible  to  think  of,  death  brought 
about  by  conspiracy  between  a  false  disciple  and  un- 
principled priests,  death  as  a  victim  of  human  sin  under 


224  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

all  its  varied  aspects,  death  in  utter  loneliness,  deserted 
by  all  Ins  chosen  companions.  But  God,  His  Father, 
was  He  not  with  Him,  and  was  His  presence  not  enough 
to  sweeten  the  cup,  or  at  least  to  mitigate  greatly  its 
bitterness  ?  Yes,  the  Father  was  with  Him,  and  He 
realised  the  fact  all  through  the  hour  of  trial.  From 
first  to  last  the  filial  consciousness  was  in  the  ascendant. 
The  key-note  of  filial  trust  was  struck  in  the  first  act  of 
prayer,  in  its  opening  phrase  :  "•  O  my  Father."  His 
Father's  heart  is  His  place  of  refuge  in  this  hour  of 
dire  distress ;  His  Father's  love  and  His  Father's  wis- 
dom and  power,  and  the  boundless  possibilities  at  His 
command  for  extricating  those  who  trust  in  Him  and 
serve  Him  from  the  most  desperate  situations.  No 
way  of  escape  had  appeared  open  to  His  own  view,  all 
things  had  seemed  to  unite  in  saying.  It  must  be  ;  but : 
"all  things  are  possible  unto  thee,  O  Father."  Jesus 
addresses  His  Father  not  as  the  Appointer  of  the  cup, 
but  rather  as  the  only  Being  in  all  the  world  who  is 
able  to  take  it  away.  And  yet  with  His  habitual  view 
of  Divine  Providence,  He  could  not  conceive  of  His 
Father's  relation  to  the  cup  as  merely  permissive.  He 
knew  that  unless  the  Father  had  put  the  cup  into  His 
hand  it  would  not  have  been  there.  ''  The  cup  which 
my  Father  hath  given  me  shall  I  not  drink  it  ? "  ^ 
Thus  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood  which  Pie 
had  taught  His  disciples  becomes  to  Himself  now  a  two- 

^  John  xviii.  11.  The  words  quoted  are  all  that  remain  of  the 
Gethsemane  experience  in  the  Fourth  Gospel.  They  indicate  the  tri- 
iimphant  result  of  an  unrecorded  struggle,  and  imply  knowledge  of 
the  struggle  on  the  part  of  the  Evangelist. 


GETHSEMANE  225 

edged  sword,  a  source  at  once  of  perplexity  and  of 
consolation.  This  bitter  cup,  iny  Father  hath  put  it 
into  my  hand,  and  that  adds  to  its  bitterness.  Not 
merely  men,  friends  and  foes,  are  against  me,  but  my 
God,  my  Father  seems  to  forsake  me.  Yet  in  the  mere 
fact  that  my  Father  wills  it,  I  find  sweet  comfort,  for  '^ 
all  He  does  is  well.  Here  is  an  antinomy  solved  by 
faith,  not  insoluble  even  for  tliought.  Piety  always 
contrives  to  solve  such  antinomies,  but  the  reflective 
thought  of  those  who  are  confronted  with  them  is  not 
always  able  to  suggest  adequate  theoretical  solutions. 
The  prophets  of  Israel  were  in  this  position.  They 
believed  that  God  was  righteous,  and  in  their  experience 
He  appeared  to  them  most  unrighteous.  They  held  on 
to  faith  in  the  Divine  righteousness,  but  they  could  not 
explain  the  conflicting  phenomena  of  Providence  ;  these 
remained  for  them  an  inscrutable  mystery.  Was  it  so 
with  our  Lord  Jesus  ?  No  ;  by  thought  as  well  as  by 
faith  He  surmounted  the  antinomy.  He  understood 
that  it  was  a  law  and  not  an  accident  that  the  righteous 
suffer  in  this  world.  He  understood  moreover  that  it 
was  a  beneficent  law  :  that  the  sufferings  of  the  right- 
eous issued  in  good  even  to  the  unrighteous  ;  that  the 
death  of  the  just  is  a  ransom  for  the  souls  of  the  unjust. 
Doubtless  He  understood  also,  though  this  does  not  ap- 
pear from  the  Gospel  records,  that  the  sufferer  Himself 
gains  from  His  hard  experience.  "  Perfected  by  suffer-  **- 
ing  "  is  the  formula  offered  by  the  author  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  to  justify  the  thesis  :  "It  became  Him 
for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things, 
to  subject  the  Captain  of  Salvation  to  a  painful  and 


226  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

liumbling  experience. "'  ^  It  is  a  true,  beautiful,  and  help- 
ful thought  which  has  not  received  from  systematic 
theology  so  full  a  recognition  as  it  deserves.  It  means 
that  by  His  curriculum  of  temptation  and  suffering 
Jesus  was  perfected  for  the  office  and  function  of 
Captain  of  Salvation,  because  thereby  He  was  subjected 
to  an  experience  which  called  into  play  the  virtues 
of  faith,  patience,  obedience,  and  sympathy,  qualifying 
Him  to  be  a  merciful  High  Priest  worthy  of,  and  win- 
ning, the  unhesitating  trust  of  sinful  men. 

The  victory  of  our  Lord  in  Gethsemane  consisted 
not  merely  in  submission  to  the  will  of  His  Father,  but 
in  the  intelligent  acceptance  of  that  will  as  good,  wise, 
well-grounded.  That  was  what  He  had  achieved  by 
the  three-fold  act  of  prayer.  That  three  distinct  de- 
votional acts  were  necessary  is  no  ground  of  reproach. 
Complete  mastery  in  thought  and  feeling  in  such  crises 
of  temptation  comes  to  no  man  without  prolonged 
effort.  It  is  the  result  of  a  process  with  distinguish- 
able stages.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  in  the  three 
acts,  words  and  mood  were  absolutely  identical.  We 
might  infer  that  they  were  from  the  statements  of  the 
Evangelists,  especially  from  that  of  Mark,  but  the  in- 
ference would  be  hasty.  Neither  they  nor  the  three 
disciples,  who  were  the  ultimate  source  of  information, 
were  able  to  tell  precisely  all  that  happened.  Peter, 
James,  and  John  heard  a  few  words  in  which  the  name 
"  Father "  was  most  distinct,  and  they  gathered  that 
the  burden  of  all  their  Master  said  was,  "  Help  me  to 
say.  Thy  will  be  done."  Each  act  doubtless  had  its 
1  Heh.  ii.  10. 


GETHSEMANE  227 

distinctive  character,  by  each  in  succession  a  step  in 
advance  was  taken.  In  the  first,  nature  found  relief 
by  unreserved  utterance  "  with  strong  crying  and 
tears"  of  all  it  had  to  say  against  the  "cup."  When 
this  wave  of  emotion  had  dashed  itself  against  the 
shore,  there  would  come  a  moment  of  calm  during 
which  the  sufferer  would  naturally  go  back  to  the 
three,  seeking  a  little  comfort  in  the  presence  of  loved 
ones.  Then  another  wave  began  to  raise  its  head  ; 
the  mood  of  wrestling  and  the  need  of  solitude  re- 
turned. Again  prostration  and  lifting  up  of  the  soul 
to  God  ;  but  this  time  not  in  mere  jDassionate  out- 
pouring of  nature's  revolt.  Rather  an  endeavour  to 
collect  thought  and  summon  into  consciousness  all  that 
helped  to  see  that  the  cup  must  be  drank,  and  that 
however  bitter  it  was  wholesome.  Of  this  change  in 
tone  there  is  a  perceptible  trace  in  the  words  which 
Matthew  makes  our  Lord  utter  in  His  second  ]3rayer  : 
"  O  my  Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from 
me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done."  It  was  first : 
"  Oh  that  the  cup  might  pass  !  "  but  now  it  is  :  "I  per- 
ceive it  cannot,  though  it  be  bitter."  Ajjain  an  inter- 
lude  of  calm  after  clear  insight  attained  and  a  second 
visit  to  the  three.  And  the  final  stage  ?  It  is  :  "  Thy 
will  be  done,  I  will  drink  the  cup.  I  see  it  must  be, 
and  I  see  that  it  is  well.     I  resist  no  more." 

The  thrice  repeated  prayer  in  Gethsemane,  thus 
viewed,  is  manifestly  not  chargeable  with  that  bat- 
tology  against  which  Jesus  had  warned  His  disciples. 
It  is  not  a  case  of  vain  repetition  in  hope  to  be  heard 
through  much  speaking.     It  is  the  case  of  an  earnest 


228  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

soul  wrestling  with  itself  in  the  presence  of  God, 
whose  good-will  is  never  doubted,  and  making  steady 
progress  in  self-conquest  ;  first  exhausting  passion  by 
expression,  then  bringing  reason  into  play,  and  finally, 
with  all  that  is  within,  saying :  Amen,  God's  good  will 
be  done.  In  his  line  exposition  of  the  Gethsemane 
incident,  Calvin  rebuts  the  charge  of  battology  by  the 
remark  that :  ''  Christ  teaches  us  by  His  example  that 
we  ought  not  to  be  discouraged  or  become  weary  of 
praying  when  we  do  not  at  once  obtain  our  desires." 
The  moral  is  good,  but  not  apposite.  When  Jesus 
taught  His  disciples  by  parables  to  persevere  in  prayer. 
He  meant  them  to  persist  in  asking  the  same  thing, 
surely  believed  to  be  a  thing  God  was  willing  to  grant, 
e.g.^  the  Holy  Spirit,  aye  and  until  they  at  length  ob- 
tained it,  though  it  should  not  be  till  after  the  lapse  of 
years.  But  in  the  prayers  of  Gethsemane  Jesus  did 
not  repeat  Himself.  He  began  with  one  thing  and 
ended  with  another.  What  He  sought  at  first  was 
deliverance  from  death ;  what  He  at  length  obtained 
'/was  deliverance  from  the  fear  of  death.  The  lesson  to 
be  learned,  therefore,  is  rather  to  bring  our  trouble  into 
the  presence  of  God,  and  to  remain  there  till  the  dark 
cloud  lifts  and  the  sunshine  returns. 

Thus  far  of  the  solemn  scene  in  the  garden  as  it  is 
described  in  the  pages  of  Matthew  and  INIark.  Let  us 
turn  now  to  the  narrative  in  Luke.  From  it,  as  it 
stands  in  the  Authorised  Version,  comes  the  traditional 
name  for  this  sore  trial  of  our  Lord,  the  "  agony,"  but 
if  we  omit  the  part  of  the  narrative  in  which  that  word 
occurs    (verses   43,    44)    what    remains    gives    us    no 


GETHSEMANB  229 

adequate  conception  of  an  experience  to  which  such  a 
term  could  be  fitly  applied. 

Leaving  out  these  verses,  the  report  contained  in  the 
Third  Gospel  is  as  follows: 

Chap.    xxii.    v.    39  "  And  He  came  out,  and  went,  as 
He  was  wont,  to  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  and  the  disciples  also  fol- 
lowed Him. 
V.  40  "  And  when  He  was  at  the  place 
He  said  unto  them :   Pray  that  ye 
enter  not  into  temptation. 
V.  41  "  And    He    withdrew   from    them 
about  a  stone's  cast,  and  kneeling 
He  prayed, 
V.  42  "  Saying,  Father  !  if  thou  be  will- 
ing,  remove  this  cup    from  me, 
nevertheless,    not    my    will    but 
thine  be  done." 
V.  45  "  And  when  He  rose  up  from  His 
prayer  and  came  to  His  disciples 
He  found  them  sleeping  for  sor- 
row. 
V.  46  "  And  He  said  to  them:   Why  sleep 
ye,  rise  and  pray,  that  ye  enter 
not  into  temptation." 
The  differences  between  this  account  and  the  com- 
panion   narratives    are    obvious,    and    their    combined 
effect  is  to  present  a  very  subdued  view  of  the  occur- 
rence.    Among    the    more    important    variations    are 
these :   First,  the  introduction  of  the  expression  "  as  He 
was  wont,"  the  effect  of  which  is  to  deprive  this  par- 


230  WITH    OPEN   FACE 

ticular  visit  to  the  garden  of  special  significance.  Had 
we  only  Luke's  report,  it  would  not  occur  to  us  that 
anything  very  remarkable  was  going  to  happen.  Next, 
in  so  far  as  any  particular  interest  attaches  to  the  occa- 
sion, it  seems  to  centre  in  the  disciples  rather  than  in 
their  Master.  In  the  other  two  Gospels  Jesus  says  : 
Sit  ye  here  while  I  go  and  pray  yonder.  Here  He  bids 
the  disciples  pray  with  tlie  view  of  warding  off  tempta- 
tion, as  if  the  need  for  prayer  were  on  their  side  only. 
Then  the  Master  retires  about  a  stone's  cast,  not  merely 
from  the  greater  number  but  from  them  all;  for  here 
there  is  no  mention  of  Jesus  taking  the  three  along 
with  Him  into  the  interior  recesses  of  the  garden. 
They  were  taken  to  be  sympathetic  company,  but  as 
Christ's  need  of  sympathy  has  not  been  indicated,  that 
feature  in  Luke's  narrative  naturally  falls  away.  With 
it  disappears  also  the  unreserved  confession  of  mental 
distress  made  to  the  three.  There  is  nothing  in  Luke 
corresponding  to  the  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful 
even  unto  death  "  of  Matthew  and  Mark.  In  harmony 
with  this  omission  is  the  manner  in  which  the  praying 
of  Jesus  is  dealt  with.  It  is  not  passed  over,  but  it  is 
slightly  touched  on.  The  Master's  wrestling  in  prayer 
is  not  the  outstanding  fact;  He  simply  prays  as  well 
as  His  disciples.  The  gesture  is  kneeling,  not  as  in 
Matthew  and  Mark,  self-prostration  on  the  ground. 
And  there  is  only  a  single  act  of  prayer.  Having 
calmly  uttered  the  petition,  "  Father,  if  thou  be  willing, 
remove  this  cup  from  me;  nevertheless  not  my  will  but 
thine  be  done,"  Jesus  rises  from  His  prayer  and  returns 
to  His  disciples  whom  He  finds  sleeping  "for  sorrow." 


GETHSEMANE  231 

And  what  He  says  to  them  is  in  keeping  with  the 
whole  preceding  representation  of  the  event,  as  con- 
stituting a  crisis  for  the  disciples,  rather  than  for  their 
Master.  Not  a  word  of  complaint  because  they  had 
failed  to  tvatch;  only  a  gentle  reminder  that  it  was  not 
a  time  for  sleeping,  but  for  praying  against  the  access 
of  temptation. 

These  features  of  Luke's  account  all  hang  together, 
presenting  a  perfectly  coherent  story,  and  making  a 
quite  definite  impression,  v^'^.,  that  the  Gethsemane 
experience  Avas  indeed  a  crisis,  but  a  crisis  for  the 
Twelve  rather  than  for  Jesus.  Turning  now  to  the 
two  omitted  verses,  what  shall  we  say  of  them  ?  That 
they  are  out  of  keeping  with  their  context,  and  intrude 
themselves  into  an  incongruous  narrative  like  a  vein 
of  igneous  rock  piercing  through  a  stratified  formation. 
They  are,  as  is  well  known  to  critics,  of  very  doubtful 
genuineness,  tested  by  documentary  evidence,  being 
omitted  by  some  most  important  manuscripts  of  the 
Greek  Testament,  and  by  many  ancient  versions.  The 
external  evidence  against  them  is  admittedly  strong, 
but  stronger  still  in  my  judgment  is  the  internal  evi- 
dence arising  from  the  manifest  incongruity  between 
the  picture  they  suggest  and  that  presented  in  the 
rest  of  the  narrative.  Here  we  have  an  agony,  or 
desperate  struggle,  a  mortal  weakness,  demanding  and 
receiving  supernatural  aid,  a  bloody  sweat  falling  in 
great  drops  from  the  forehead  to  the  ground ;  there 
no  signs  of  distress,  weakness,  fear,  or  exhausting  com- 
bat, but  throughout  calmness,  composure,  self-mastery. 
The  question,  observe,  is  not  as  to  the  historic  truth  of 


232  AVITH    OrEN    FACE 

the  added  particulars.  They  may  form  a  genuine  ele- 
ment of  the  evangelic  tradition  as  to  what  befell  our 
Lord  in  Gethsemane.  The  point  insisted  on  is  that 
the  sentences  containing  these  details  have  no  proper 
place  in  Luke's  account.  They  did  not  come  from  his 
hand,  they  do  not  harmonise  with  the  general  spirit 
and  tendency  of  his  Gospel  as  a  whole  and  of  this  par- 
ticular part  of  his  narrative.  They  have  been  added 
by  another  hand  with  a  view  to  supplement,  I  might 
even  say  to  correct,  his  account.  The  note  of  correc- 
tion may  be  detected  in  the  expression  "  He  prayed 
more  earnestly.''  It  betrays  a  feeling  that  the  praying 
of  Jesus  as  previously  described  lacks  intensity.  The 
feeling  was  well  founded.  There  is  no  trace  of  inten- 
sity in  the  reported  behaviour  of  Jesus  up  to  this  point ; 
all  witnesses  rather  to  calm  self-control.  But  from 
Luke's  point  of  view  that  was  not  a  defect ;  therefore, 
it  is  not  from  him  that  the  notice  of  an  altered  tone 
emanates,  but  from  one  who  knew  that  the  experience 
in  the  garden  was  a  much  more  serious  matter  than 
it  appeared  in  the  original  narrative.  The  foreign 
origin  of  the  correction  is  betrayed  by  its  coming  in 
too  late.  The  intensity  should  have  come  in  at  the 
beginning.  It  is  altogether  improbable  that  the  prayer 
of  Jesus  was  languid  and  half-hearted  at  first,  and  that 
He  grew  earnest  as  He  went  on.  That  is  the  way 
often  with  us,  but  it  would  be  far  otherwise  with  our 
Lord  at  that  tremendous  hour  ;  first,  an  unrestrained 
outburst  of  passionate  resistance,  then,  and  then  only, 
tranquil  submission  attained  through  resolute  struggle. 
On  these  grounds  I  regard  it  as  certain  that  verees 


GETHSEMANE  233 

43,  44  formed  no  part  of  the  Third  Gospel  as  it  came 
from  Luke's  hand.  And  I  do  not  think  it  serves  any 
good  purpose  to  disguise  the  fact  by  retaining  it  as 
part  of  the  text  against  the  best  critical  judgment,  as 
has  been  done  in  the  Revised  Version.  It  simply 
tends  to  prevent  readers  from  observing  tlie  peculiar 
characteristics  of  Luke's  account  as  compared  with  the 
versions  of  jNIatthew  and  ]\Iark.  To  make  these  promi- 
nent, doul)tless,  ma}^  in  some  measure  conflict  with  the 
aims  of  those  whose  supreme  concern  is  to  harmonise 
the  Evangelists.  But  the  pressing  interest  of  our  time 
is  historicity,  not  harmony.  Tliat  the  sense  of  histori- 
city may  be  strengtliened  by  the  critical  ascertainment 
of  what  may  be  called  the  personal  equation  of  each 
Evangelist,  I  have  already  endeavoured  to  show.^  The 
general  statement  then  made  is  not  without  application 
to  the  case  before  us.  Luke's  account  of  the  "  agony  " 
in  the  garden,  in  which  there  is  no  trace  of  agony, 
shows  that  in  certain  circles  within  tlie  church  of  the 
apostolic  or  subapostolic  age  a  tone  of  feeling  pre- 
vailed to  which  it  would  have  appeared  unfit  that 
Jesus  should  be  represented  as  afraid  to  die,  or  as 
passionately  recoiling  from  the  awful  ordeal  through 
which  He  was  about  to  pass.  Where  this  feeling  was 
so  strong  that  to  disregard  it  might  involve  the  risk  of 
shaking  faith  in  the  Saviour's  devotion  to  His  redeem- 
ing work,  the  task  of  a  historian  concerned  equally 
for  truth  and  for  edification  became  a  delicate  one. 
The  resultant  of  the  two  forces  counterworking  each 
other  could  hardly  fail  to  be  either  a  subdued  report  of 
1  Vide  chap,  iii.,  towards  the  close. 


234  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

the  experience  in  the  garden,  such  as  we  have  in  the 
authentic  narrative  of  Luke,  or  a  bare  statement  of  the 
triumphant  result  of  an  unrecorded  struggle,  such  as 
we  have  in  John,  in  the  words  "The  cup  which  my 
Father  hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ? "  And 
a  gain  to  the  interest  of  historicity  does  distinctly 
accrue  from  carefully  noting  these  two  ways  of  treat- 
ing an  event  in  our  Lord's  earthly  life  in  deference  to 
local  exigencies  of  edification.  We  learn  thereby 
where  to  look  for  the  full  objective  historic  fact,  even 
to  the  narratives  of  Evangelists  exempt  from  the  press- 
ure under  which  the  companion  accounts  were  com- 
piled. If  you  want  to  know  what  really  befell  our 
Lord  in  the  garden,  read,  first,  Mark  and  Matthew  ; 
then  read  Luke,  clearly  understanding  that  you  have 
to  do  with  a  subdued  account;  then  finally  take  up 
John,  and  learn  from  him  the  resolute  mind  with 
which  Jesus  issued  from  Gethsemane. 

That  the  narratives  of  the  Third  and  Fourth  Gospels 
took  shape  under  a  religious  influence  of  the  kind  de- 
scribed, is  a  hypothesis  suggested  to  explain  certain 
characteristics  observable  in  them.  It  must  be  taken 
for  what  it  is  worth.  Assuming  its  truth,  I  do  not  call 
in  question  the  legitimacy  of  the  methods  by  which  Evan- 
gelists sought  to  meet  local  and  temporary  religious 
needs.  I  only  remark  that  it  was  well  for  the  perma- 
nent universal  needs  of  the  Church  that  four  Gospels 
and  not  merely  two  have  been  preserved.  For  we 
should  have  lost  much  if  the  weakness  of  Christ,  as  He 
passed  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  had 
remained  unknown  ;  if  He  had  appeared  in  the  evan- 


GETHSEMANE  235 

gelic  tradition  as  one  who  prayed  only  once  concerning 
the  "cup,"  or  as  one  who  did  not  need  to  pray  at  all. 
Preternatural  divine  superiority  to  fear  and  to  suffer- 
ing is  sublime  and  imposing,  but  a  Jesus  acquainted 
with  a  very  real  fear,  and  soul-distress  even  unto  death, 
is  very  human,  and  a  veritable  Brother.  A  weak 
human  Christ  has  religious  value  as  well  as  a  strong 
Divine  Christ.  That  we  see,  but  not  we  only.  There 
were  those  even  in  the  first  Christian  age  who  under- 
stood it  well.  Witness  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  How  strongly  he  asserts  the  infirmity 
of  Jesus  in  connection  with  the  scene  in  Gethsemane, 
representing  Him  as  offering  up  prayers  and  supplica- 
tions with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that  was 
able  to  save  Him  from  death.-^  The  interest  in  which 
He  does  this  is  that  he  may  thereby  prove  how  far 
Jesus  was  from  being  a  usurper  of  the  priestly  office. 
Instead  of  taking  this  honour  to  Himself,  He  was  rather 
in  that  Gethsemane  experience,  as  viewed  by  the  writer, 
saying  in  effect,  Nolo  pontifex  fieri,  saying  it  not  pro 
formd,  in  mock  humility,  but  with  tremendous  earnest- 
ness and  unmistakable  sincerity/.  It  is  a  fine  thought, 
one  of  many  in  the  Epistle  evincing  a  strong  grasp  of 
the  fact  and  the  moral  glory  of  Christ's  earthly  humil- 
iation. That  grasp  the  writer  did  not  share  with  his 
readers.  They  saw  in  the  humiliation  of  Jesus,  viewed 
as  the  Christ  and  the  Son  of  God,  simply  a  stumbling- 
block  to  their  faith,  whence  arose  an  imperious  neces- 
sity for  one  who  wished  to  aid  them  to  do  his  best  to 
set  that  aspect  of  our  Lord's  earthly  life  in  its  true 
1  Heb.  V.  7. 


236  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

light.  From  the  Gospel  of  Luke  and  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  taken  together  it  may  be  inferred  that 
inability  to  understand  the  religious  significance  of  the 
humiliation  prevailed  extensively  in  the  early  Church. 
One  may  wonder  why  the  two  writers  adopted  such 
different  methods  of  dealing  with  the  situation  ;  the 
Evangelist  succumbing  to  it,  so  to  speak,  the  author  of 
the  Epistle  manfull}^  grappling  witli  it  in  hope  of  com- 
municating to  his  readers  a  new  view  of  the  whole  mat- 
ter. The  explanation  may  in  part  be  that  the  former 
possessed  a  less  degree  of  insight  than  the  latter.  But 
it  must  also  be  remembered  that  the  tasks  of  the  two 
writers  determined  the  paths  they  must  respectively 
take.  Luke  was  writing  a  history,  the  unknown  author 
of  Hebrews  was  writing  an  epistle.  Luke  could  only 
relate,  the  author  of  Hebreivs  had  a  free  hand,  and  could 
argue  and  explain.  He  could  state  the  fact  strongly, 
because  the  more  strongly  it  was  put  the  better  it 
proved  his  thesis.  Where  the  fact  could  not  be  ex- 
plained, or  connected  with  a  theory,  and  yet  was  thought 
to  stand  very  much  in  need  of  explanation,  the  alterna- 
tive left  was  to  state  it  weakly  or  omit  it  altogether. 

The  writer  of  Hebrews  not  only  states  the  fact  of 
Christ's  struggle  strongly,  but  points  its  moral  clearly. 
V  He  saw  in  that  tragic  experience  a  Son  learning  obedi- 
ence to  the  will  of  His  Father  which  appointed  that 
through  suffering  He  sliould  become  the  Author  of 
eternal  salvation.  Let  us  bow  in  lowly  reverence  be- 
fore Him  who  so  loyally  learnt  the  hard  lesson  I  And 
may  God  give  us  grace  to  obey  Him  as  He  obeyed  His 
Father,  that  we  may  be  of  the  grand  army  whicli  the 
great  Ca|)tain  U:^ads  to  Glory!     Amen. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE    CHRISTIAN    PRIMER 

"  Suffer  the  children  to  come  unto  me,"  said  Jesus. 
It  is  with  a  view  to  fulfil  this  command  that  I  write 
this  concluding  chapter.  It  is  my  desire  that  the 
children  also  may  see  Jesus  "  with  open  face."  Exist- 
ing Catechisms  do  not  accomplish  this  good  object. 
In  them  Jesus  is  seen  only  through  the  somewhat 
opaque  veil  of  theology.  I  do  not  quarrel  with  theo- 
logy, but  it  should  come  last,  not  first.  Theology  is 
for  full-grown  men,  not  for  children.  The  Jesus  of 
the  Gospels  is  for  all.  There  is  indeed  much  in  the 
Gospels  also  that  is  beyond  the  comprehension  of  early 
years.  But  they  contain  much  suited  to  young  capaci- 
ties, quite  enough  to  enable  children  to  know  Jesus 
well,  and  to  love  Him  with  all  their  hearts. 

To  gather  out  of  the  Gospels  this  Gospel  for  the 
children  is  my  present  aim.  If  I  include  in  my  Primer 
some  things  young  people  cannot  fully  understand,  I 
trust  there  will  be  found  nothing  in  it  to  which  they 
can  attach  no  meaning,  I  arrange  the  material  in 
Catechetical  form. 

1.    Who  was  Jesus? 

He  was  the  Son  of  Mary  of  Nazareth  in  Galilee 
whose  husband  Joseph  was  a  carpenter. 
237 


238  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

2.    What  is  the  meaning  of  the  name  Jesus  ? 

It  means  "Saviour,"  for  the  mission  of  Jesus  was 
to  save  men  from  their  sins. 
8.  What  hajDpened  to  Jesus  when  he  was  twelve 
years  old  ? 
He  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the  passover  with 
His  parents,  found  His  way  into  the  temple 
where  the  doctors  taught,  and  was  there  when 
His  parents  left  to  go  home. 

4.  What  did  He  say  to  His  mother  when  she  found 

Him? 
"  How  is  it  that  ye  sought  me  ?     Wist  ye  not  that 
I  must  be  in  my  Father's  house  ?  "     Luke  ii.  49. 

5.  What  was  the  early  occupation  of  Jesus  ? 

When  He  grew  up  to  manhood  He  became  a  car- 
penter. 

6.  Why  did  He  leave  this  occupation  ? 

Because  the  Spirit  of  God  told  Him  He  must  now 
enter  upon  His  higher  work  as  a  religious  teacher. 

7.  How  did  He  enter  upon  His  higher  work  ? 

He  left  Nazareth  and  went  southwards  towards 
the  mouth  of  the  Jordan,  to  be  baptized  by  a 
prophet  named  John. 

8.  What  happened  to  Jesus  after  His  baptism  ? 

He  saw  the  heavens  cleft  and  the  Spirit  of  God  as 
a  dove  descending  upon  Him.  He  also  heard  a 
voice  out  of  heaven  saying :  "  Thou  art  my 
beloved  Son,  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased." 

9.  Where  did  Jesus  go  after  His  baptism  ? 

He  returned  to  Galilee  to  begin  teaching,  and  thus 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PRIMER  239 

a  "people  which  sat  in  darkness  saw  a  great 
Light."     Matthew  iv.  16. 

10.  Where  did  Jesus  preach  ? 

In  the  synagogues  in  which  pious  Jews  met  to 
worship  God  on  the  Sabbath  days. 

11.  Did  Jesus  preach  often  there  ? 

Yes.  "  He  went  into  their  synagogues  throughout 
all  Galilee  preaching."     Mark  i.  39. 

12.  What  was  His  text  in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth? 
It  was  taken  from  Isaiah  Ixi.  and  these  were  the 

words  :  —  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 
because  he  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings 
to  the  poor.  He  hath  sent  me  to  proclaim 
release  to  the  captives,  and  recovering  of  sight 
to  the  blind;  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are 
bruised.  To  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of 
the  Lord."     Luke  iv.  18,  19. 

13.  What  impression    did    His  discourse  make  on  the 

hearers  ? 
They  all  marvelled,  for  the  words  He  spoke  then, 
as  in  all  the  synagogues,  were  "  words  of  grace." 
Luke  iv.  22. 

14.  Did  Jesus  preach  only  in  the  synagogues  ? 

No,  He  preached  in  the  synagogues  at  the  begin- 
ning, but  afterwards  in  the  streets,  or  the  high- 
ways, or  in  any  place  where  men  gathered  to 
hear  him. 

15.  Did  many  come  to  hear  Him  ? 

Yes,  very  many,  for  the  common  people  loved 
to  hear  Him,  and  He  not  only  preached  to  them 
but  healed  their  sick. 


240  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

16.  Did  He  heal  many  ? 

Yes,  very  many,  and  of  all  manner  of  diseases. 
In  Capernaum  one  Sabbath  evening,  at  sunset, 
they  brought  unto  Him  all  that  were  sick  and 
He  healed  them  all.     Mark  i.  32,  33. 

17.  How  was  He  able  to  do  this  ? 

"The  power  of  the  Lord  was  with  Him  to  heal." 
Luke  V.  IT. 

18.  What  ancient  oracle  was    fulfilled  by  this  healing 

ministry  ? 
"  Himself  took   our  infirmities  and  bare  our  dis- 
eases."    Matthew  viii.  17. 

19.  Who  were  the  publicans  ? 

They  were  the  men  who  collected  the  taxes  for 
the  Roman  government.  They  were  much  dis- 
liked, because  they  were  often  unjust,  and  be- 
cause they  were  the  servants  of  a  foreign  power 
from  which  the  Jews  longed  to  be  free. 

20.  Did  Jesus  dislike  the  publicans  ? 

No,  He  pitied  them,  preached  to  them  also,  and 
even  ate  with  them,  and  with  people  whom  good 
folks  called  "the  Sinners." 

21.  Did  other  religious  teachers  treat  publicans   and 

sinners  so  ? 
No,  they  shrank  from  them  with  abhorrence. 

22.  Why  did  Jesus  differ  so  from  other  teachers  and 

religious  people  ? 
Because  He  had  a  marvellously  loving  heart. 

23.  What  did  the  religious  peo^jle  of  Capernaum  say 

when  they  saw  Jesus  meeting   and  eating  with 
the  publicans  and  sinners  ? 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PRIMER  241 

They  asked  "  How  is  it  that  He  eateth  and  drink- 
eth  with  publicans  and  sinners  ?  "    Mark  ii.  16. 

24.  What  answer  did  Jesus  give  to  their  question  ? 
He  said  :   "•  They  that  are  whole  have  no  need  of 

the  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick  ;  I  came 
not  to  call  the  righteous  but  sinners."  Mark 
ii.  17. 

25.  What  else  did  He  say  in  His  defence  ? 

At  another  time  He  said  :  '•  To  whom  little  is  for- 
given the  same  loveth  little."'     Luke  vii.  47. 

26.  What  did  He  mean  by  this  ? 

He  meant  that  a  great  sinner,  like  the  woman  who 
came  into  Simon's  house  to  anoint  His  feet  with 
precious  oil,  when  pardoned,  loves  the  Saviour 
much,  and  that  one,  who  like  Simon,  thinks 
himself  a  little  sinner,  loves  the  Saviour  little. 

27.  Did  He  make  any  other  defence  for  being  kind  to 

the  sinful  ? 
Yes,  He  once  said  by  means  of  parables.  What  joy 
there  is  in  finding  things  lost  ! 

28.  What  is  a  parable  ? 

It  is  a  story  of  common  life  made  up  to  teach  a 
truth  of  the  spiritual  life. 

29.  What  parables  did  Jesus  make  to  teach  the  joy  of 

finding  things  lost  ? 
He  made  three  parables  :  one  about  a  lost  sheep, 
another  about  a  lost  coin,  a  third  about  a  lost 
son. 

30.  What  is  the  parable  of  the  Lost  Sheep  '? 

''  A  certain  man  had  a  hundred  sheep,  and  having 
lost  one  of  them  left  the  ninety  and  nine  in  the 


242  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

wilderness,  and  went  after  the  lost  one  till  he 
found  it.  And  when  he  found  it  he  laid  it  on 
his  shoulders  with  joy.  And  when  he  came 
home  he  told  his  neighbours,  and  they  were  all 
pleased  that  he  had  found  the  lost  sheep." 
Luke  XV.  3-7. 

31.  What  is  the  parable  of  the  Lost  Coin? 

"  A  very  poor  woman  had  ten  small  pieces  of  silver 
money,  and  lost  one  of  them.  She  lit  a  lamp, 
swept  the  house,  and  sought  till  she  found  it. 
In  her  joy  she  told  her  neighbours  and  they  all 
rejoiced  with  her."     Luke  xv.   8-10. 

32.  What  is  the  parable  of  the  Lost  Son? 

It  is  a  much  longer  story,  too  long  to  tell.  But  it 
was  about  a  son  who  got  money  from  his  father 
and  went  away  and  wasted  it  in  a  distant  land, 
and  so  became  poor  as  a  beggar,  and  in  his 
misery  thought  he  had  better  go  back  to  his 
father's  house.  He  did,  and  his  father,  who  had 
missed  him  much,  saw  him  coming,  and  ran  to 
meet  him,  and  wept  with  joy  when  he  had  him 
in  his  arms,  and  said,  "  Quick  !  bring  forth  the 
best  robe,  and  put  it  on  him,  and  put  a  ring  on 
his  hand  and  shoes  on  his  feet,  and  bring  the 
fatted  calf  and  kill  it,  and  let  us  eat  and  be 
merry,  for  this  my  son  was  dead  and  is  alive 
again,  he  was  lost  and  is  found."  Luke  xv. 
11-24. 

33.  Had   Jesus   any   companions    as    He   went   about 

preaching  and  healing  ? 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PKIMKIl  243 

Yes,  He  was  attended  by  men  whom  He  called 
disciples. 

34.  What  is  a  disciple  ? 

He  is  a  person  who  joins  himself  to  a  great  teacher 
to  get  instruction  from  him. 

35.  How  many  disciples  had  Jesus  ? 

A  goodly  number  followed  Him,  both  men  and 
women,  but  there  were  twelve  men  whom  He 
regarded  as  disciples  more  than  others. 

36.  Whom  did  Jesus  first  call  to  be  disciples  ? 

He  first  called  four  men  who  lived  by  fishing  in 
the  sea  of  Galilee  :  Peter  and  Andrew,  brothers  ; 
James  and  John,  also  brothers. 

37.  What  did  Jesus  say  to  them  when  He  called  them  ? 
He  said  :   "  Come  ye  after  me  and  I  will  make  you 

fishers  of  men."     Matthew  iv.  19,  Mark  i.  17. 

38.  Was  Jesus  very  desirous  to  have  disciples  ? 

Yes,  He  longed  to  have  about  Him  men  who  loved 
wisdom  more  than  anything  else,  and  who  could 
understand  and  value  His  teaching. 

39.  By  what  words  did  He  show  this  desire  ? 

He  said  :  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and 
are  heavy  laden  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take 
my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me  ;  for  I  am 
meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest 
unto  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy  and  my 
burden  is  light."     Matthew  xi.  28-30. 

40.  Who  are  those  that  "labour  and  are  heavy  laden?" 
Jesus  was  very  willing  to  have  as  disciples  those 

who  earned  their  bread  with  the  sweat  of  their 
brows,  but  He  meant  chiefly  those  who  had  earn- 


244  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

estly  sought  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  sal- 
vation, and  had  not  found  it. 

41.  When  did  Jesus  instruct  His  disciples? 

Chiefly  in  seasons  of  retirement  when  He  escaped 
from  the  crowds  who  constantly  followed  Him. 

42.  Can  you  name  one  of  the  places  to  which  Jesus 

retired  with  His  disciples  ? 
The  top  of  the  hills  on  the  west  side  of  the  sea  of 
Galilee. 

43.  What  were  the  subjects  of  the  teaching  Jesus  gave 

to  His  disciples  on  the  hill-top? 
They  were   God,  the   Kingdom  of  God,  and  the 
Righteousness  of  God. 

44.  What  did  Jesus  say  concerning  God  ? 

He  called  God  "  Father  "  :   "  your  Father  who  is 
in  heaven." 

45.  What  did  Jesus  mean  by  that  name? 

He  never  exacth'  explained  what  He  meant. 

46.  How  then  did  the  disciples  know  what  Jesus  meant  ? 
They  guessed  His  meaning  from  what  they  knew 

of  their  own  fathers. 

47.  Are  earthly  fathers  in  all  respects  like  the  Father 

who  is  in  heaven  ? 
No,  they  sometimes  give  evil  gifts,  or  refuse  good 
gifts,  to  their  children,  but  the  Father  in  heaven, 
Jesus  tokl  his  disciples,  always  gives  good  gifts 
to  them  that  ask  Him. 

48.  What  surer  means  had  the  disciples  of  knowing 

the  spirit  of  tlie  Father  in  heaven  ? 
They  knew  by  the  way  in  which  Jesus  used  the 
name. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PRIMER  245 

49.  Can  you  give  an  example  ? 

Jesus  said  :  "  Let  your  light  so  sliine  before  men 
that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify 
your  Father  who  is  in  heaven."    INIatthew  v.  16. 

50.  What  might  disciples  learn  from  this  ? 

That  God  as  their  Father  was  delighted  when 
they,  His  sons,  behaved  in  a  brave,  noble,  heroic 
manner,  and  were  not  afraid  to  speak  the  truth 
and  do  the  right,  even  when  it  was  dangerous. 

51.  Can  you  give  another  example  ? 

In  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill  Jesus  said  concerning 
the  Father  in  heaven  that  "  He  maketh  His  sun 
to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth 
rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust."  Matthew 
v.  45. 

52.  What  might  disciples  learn  from  this? 

That  their  Father  in  heaven  was  great-minded, 
doing  kind  deeds  even  to  His  unworthy  chil- 
dren, and  that  He  desired  His  sons  to  be  like 
Him  in  this. 

53.  In  what  terms  did   Jesus  teach  His  disciples  to 

be  like  their  Father  in  this  respect? 
He  said:  "Love  your  enemies  and  pray  for  them 
that  persecute  you."     Matthew  v.  44. 

54.  Can  you  give  yet  another  example  ? 

In  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill  Jesus  said :  "  Behold 
the  birds  of  the  air :  they  sow  not  neither  do 
they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns,  and  your 
heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are  ye  not  of 
more  value  than  they?"     ^latthew  vi.  26. 

55.  What  might  disciples  learn  from  this? 


246  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

That  God  our  Father  careth  for  every  living 
creature,  but  more  especially  for  human  beings, 
who  are  of  more  value  in  His  eyes  than  birds, 
or  beasts  like  sheep  and  oxen,  and  most  of  all 
for  men  and  women  who  make  it  their  chief 
business  in  this  world  to  do  good. 

56.  What  did  Jesus  say  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God? 
He  explained  its  nature  by  telling  who  were  its 

citizens. 

57.  In  what  sayings  did  Jesus  describe  the  citizens  of 

the  Kingdom? 
In   the   sayings  called    the  Beatitudes,  which   all 
begin  with  the  word  "  Blessed." 

58.  What  are  these  sayings? 

In  the  Teaching  on  the  Hill  Jesus  spake  these 
words : 

"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit ;  for  theirs  is 

the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall 

be  comforted. 
Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  inherit 

the  earth. 
Blessed   are   they   that    hunger    and    thirst 

after    righteousness,    for    they    shall    be 

filled. 
Blessed    are    the   merciful,    for    they   shall 

obtain  mercy. 
Blessed   are   the   pure    in    heart,    for    they 

shall  see  God. 
Blessed    are    the    peace    makers,    for    they 

shall  be  called  the  sons  of  God. 


THE    CHKISTIAN    PRIMER  247 

Blessed  are  they  that  liave  been  persecuted 
for  righteousness'  sake,  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."     Matthew  v.  3-10. 

59.  How  would  Jesus  have  us  regard  the  Kingdom  of 

God? 
As   the   highest  good,  to  be  desired  above    food 
and  raiment  and  all  earthly  good. 

60.  In  what  words  did  He  teacli  this  ? 

"  Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  and  the  Righteous- 
ness of  your  Father,  and  all  these  things  shall 
be  added  unto  you."     Matthew  vi.  33. 

61.  To   what    precious    things   did    Jesus   liken    the 

Kingdom  of  God? 
In  two  parables  He  likened  it  to  a  treasure  hid  in 
a  field,  and  to  a  costly  pearl. 

62.  What  is  the  parable  of  the  Treasure  hid  in  a  Field? 
"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  treasure 

hid  in  the  field,  which  a  man  found  and  hid 
again,  and  in  his  joy  he  goeth  and  selleth  all 
that  he  hath  and  buyeth  that  field."  Matthew 
xiii.  44. 

63.  What  is  the  parable  of  the  Costly  Pearl? 

"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  merchant 
man  seeking  goodly  pearls,  who  when  he  had 
found  one  pearl  of  great  price  went  and  sold 
all  that  he  had  and  bought  it."    Matthew  xiii.  46. 

64.  What  did  Jesus  teach  concerning  righteousness? 
What  Jesus  taught  concerning  righteousness  may 

be  summed  up  in  these  two  precepts  :  Be  unto 
God  all  that  a  son  should  be  to  a  Father ; 
treat  fellow-men  as  brethren. 


248  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

65.  In  what  words  did  Jesus  express  these  two 
precepts  ? 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
mind.  This  is  the  first  and  great  command- 
ment. And  the  second  is  like  unto  it,  thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  Matthew 
xxii.  37-39. 

Q6.    In    what    other    words     did    Jesus    express    the 
second  of  these  commandments? 
"  All  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them."     Matthew 
vii.  12. 

67.  What  did  He  add  to  these  words  ? 

"  This  is  the  Law  and  the  Prophets." 

68.  What  did  He  mean  thereby? 

He  meant  that  tlie  Hebrew  Scriptures,  called  the 
Old  Testament,  teach  in  effect  the  same  thing. 

69.  How  can  we  show  our  love  to  God  ? 

By  doing  His  will,  by  trusting  Him,  and  by  ask- 
ings of  Him  such  things  as  we  need. 

70.  Where  do  you  learn  God's  will? 
In  the  Ten  Commandments. 

71.  What  are  the  Ten  Commandments? 
They  are  these  : 

1  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  Gods  before  me. 

2  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven 

image. 

3  Thou  shalt   not   take   the   name  of  the   Lord 

thy  God  in  vain. 

4  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy. 


T1£E    CHRISTIAN    PRIMER  249 

5  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother. 

6  Thou  shalt  not  kill. 

7  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

8  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

9  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy 

neighbour. 
10  Thou   shalt  not   covet  anything  that  is  thy 
neighbour's. 

72.  What   did  Jesus   say  concerning   the   third  com- 

mandment ? 
He  said  :   '•  Swear  not  at  all,  but  let  your  speech  be 
yea,  yea;  nay,  nay."     Matthew  v.  34,  37. 

73.  What  did  Jesus  say  concerning  the  fourth  com- 

mandment ? 
He  said  :    "  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and 
not  man  made  for  the  Sabbath."     Mark  ii.  27. 

74.  What  did  He  mean  by  this? 

He  meant  that  God  made  the  Sabbath  for  man's 
benefit,  and  that  the  day  must  be  so  kept 
that  God's  end  shall  be  reached. 

75.  What  else  did  He  teach  concerning  the  Sabbath? 
He  taught  that  acts  of  kindness  and  things  which 

are  necessary  may  be  done  on  the  day  of  holy  rest. 

76.  With  what  words  did  He  teach  that  acts  of  kind- 

ness may  be  done  on  the  Sabbath? 
He  said  :   "  It  is  lawful  to  do  good  on  the  Sabbath 
day."     Matthew  xii.  12. 

77.  What  doctrine  was  taught  in  the  Jewish  schools 

concerning  the  fifth  commandment? 
They  said :   Make  gifts  to  the  temple  even  if  your 
father  and  mother  should  starve. 


250  -WITH    OPEN    FACE 

78.  What  did  Jesus  teach? 

He  taught  that  we  must  honour,  and  if  needful 
aid,  our  parents  first.  Matthew  xv.  4-6, 
Mark  vii.  10-12. 

79.  What   did   Jesus  say  concerning    the    sixth  com- 

mandment ? 
He  said :   Far  from  killing  thy  brother,  thou  must 
not  even  be  angry  with  him,  or  call  him  fool. 
Matthew  v.  21,  22. 

80.  What  did  Jesus  say  concerning  the  seventh  com- 

mandment? 
He  forbade  evil  desire  as  Avell  as  evil  acts. 

81.  What   did  Jesus  say  concerning  the  eighth  com- 

mandment ? 
He    taught    that   far   from   taking   from   another 
that  which  is  his,  we  should  be  willing  to   let 
another   take   from   us   wrongfully   that   which 
is  ours.     Matthew  v.  40. 

82.  How  did  Jesus  teach  trust  in  God  as  our  Father  ? 
He  spake  to  His  disciples  these  words  :   "  Take  no 

thought  for  your  life  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what 
ye  shall  drink,  nor  yet  for  your  body  what  ye 
shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life  more  than  the 
meat,  and  the  body  than  the  clothing.  Be- 
hold the  birds  of  the  air  !  the}^  sow  not  neither 
do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns,  and  your 
heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are  ye  not  of 
much  more  value  than  they?  And  which  of 
you  by  taking  thought  can  add  one  cubit  unto 
his  stature?  And  why  take  ye  thought  for 
raiment?     Consider  the  lilies  of   the  field  how 


THE   CHRISTIAN   PRIMER  251 

they  grow;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin. 
Yet  I  say  unto  you  that  even  Solomon  in  all 
his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. 
But  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field 
which  to-day  is  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the 
oven,  shall  He  not  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye 
of  little  faith?"     Matthew  vi.   25-31. 

83.  How  would  Jesus  have  us  pray  ? 

In  secret  rather  than  before  men,  in  simple  words, 
and  believing  that  God  our  Father  is  ever  ready 
to  grant  what  we  ask  if  it  be  good  for  us  to 
receive  it. 

84.  How  did  He  teach  secrecy  in  prayer  ? 

He  said  :  "  When  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet, 
and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy 
Father  which  is  in  secret."     Matthew  vi.  6. 

85.  How  did  He  teach  simplicity  in  prayer  ? 

He  gave  His  disciples  an  example,  commonly 
called  "the  Lord's  Prayer." 

86.  What  is  the  Lord's  Prayer  ? 
The  Lord's  Prayer  is  as  follows: 

"Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven!     Hallowed  be 

thy  name. 
Thy  Kingdom  come. 

Thy  will  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 
Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. 
And  forgive  us  our  debts  as  we  forgive  our 

debtors. 
And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver 

us  from  evil." 

Matthew  vi.  9-13. 


252  WITH   OPEN   FACE 

87.  How  did  Jesus  teach  trust  in  Prayer  ? 
He  said: 

''  Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you, 

Seek  and  ye  shall  find, 

Knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  j^ou. 

For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth,  and  he 
that  seeketh  findeth,  and  to  him  that  knock- 
eth  it  shall  be  opened. 

Or  what  man  is  there  of  you,  who,  if  his  son 
shall  ask  him  for  a  loaf,  will  give  him  a 
stone;  or  if  he  shall  ask  for  a  fish,  will  give 
him  a  serpent? 

If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good 
gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much  more 
shall  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven  give 
good  things  to  them  that  ask  Him!  " 

Matthew  vii.  7-12. 

88.  Who  were  the  scribes  ? 

They  were  men  who  studied  the  law  of 
Moses,  explained  it,  and  added  to  it  many 
rules. 

89.  Who  were  the  Pharisees  ? 

They  were  religious  people  who  very  strictly  kept 
all  the  rules  of  the  scribes. 

90.  Did  any  of  the  scribes,  or  of  the  Pharisees,  be- 

come disciples  of  Jesus  ? 
One  scribe  offered  to  follow  Jesus,  but   He  did 
not  wish  to  have  him  for  a  disciple. 

91.  What  did  Jesus  say  to  him  ? 

"  The  foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PRIMER  253 

have  lodging-phices,  but  the  Son  of  man  hath 
not  where  to  lay  His  head." 

Matthew  viii.  20. 

92.  Whom  did  Jesus  mean  by  the  Son  of  man  ? 
He  meant  Himself. 

93.  Why  did  He  call  Himself  by  that  name  ? 
Because  He  was  humble    and   humane;  He  pre- 
ferred  the   title   "  Son   of   man "  to   the   title 
"  Son  of  David,"  and  He  very  much  loved  men. 

94.  Why  did  He  not  wish  to  have  the  scribe  for  a 

disciple  ? 
Because  He  feared  that  in  heart  he  was  like  the 
other  scribes. 

95.  What  was  the  character  of  the  scribes  ? 

They  were  proud,  and  they  were  hard-hearted. 
They  wished  to  have  an  anointed  one,  a  Christy 
who  should  be  a  great  King  of  whom  they  could 
boast,  and  they  laid  heavy  legal  burdens  on 
men's  shoulders. 
9G.    Why  did  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  dislike  Jesus  ? 

Because  He  would  not  be  a  Christ  such  as  they 
desired,  and  because  He  removed  the  burdens 
they  laid  on  men's  shoulders. 

97.  What  names  did  they  call  Jesus  ? 

They  once  called  Him  a  "  blasphemer ''  because 
He  told  a  palsied  man  that  his  sins  were  for- 
given.    Matthew  ix.  3. 

98.  What  other  names  did  they  call  Jesus  ? 

They  called  Him  a  drunkard,  and  a  glutton. 
Matthew  xi.  19. 

99.  Why  did  they  give  Jesus  these  evil  names  ? 


254  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

Because  He  was  kind  to  the  poor  publicans  and 
sinners. 

100.  What  did  Jesus  say  when  they  spoke  evil  of  Him? 
He  said  :   "  Whosoever  shall  speak  a  word  against 

the    Son    of    man    it    shall    be    forgiven    him." 
Matthew  xii.  31. 

101.  Did  the  meekness  of  Jesus  soften  the  scribes  and 

Pharisees  ? 
No,  they  continued  to  dislike  Him  more  and  more, 
till  at  length  they  wanted  to  kill  Him. 

102.  Did  Jesus  know  of  their  wicked  purpose  ? 

Yes,  He  knew,  and  He  told  His  disciples  that  ere 
long  they  would  put  Him  to  death. 

103.  What  did  Jesus  do  when  He  saw  what  His  enemies 

were  aiming  at  ? 
He  went  out  of  their  way  that  they  might  not  kill 
Him  before  the  due  time. 

104.  Where  did  He  go  ? 

To  and  beyond  the  northern  boundary  of  Galilee. 

105.  How  was  He  occupied  there  ? 

In  preparing  His  disciples  for  the  end. 

106.  How  did  He  do  this  ? 

By  telling  them  plainly  that  He  was  to  suffer 
death,  and  by  striving  to  make  them  resigned 
to  what  was  coming. 

107.  What  means  did  He  use  for  this  purpose  ? 

He  told  them  that  all  who  serve  God  faithfully  in 
this  world  must  suffer,  that  His  sufferings 
would  be  for  the  good  of  the  world,  and  that 
after  His  death  He  would  rise  asfain. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    PRIMER  255 

108.  In  what  words  did  Jesus  teach  "that  tlie  faithful 

must  suflfer  ? 
"  If  any  man  woukl  come  after  me  let   him  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me." 
Matthew  xvi.  24. 

109.  In  what  words  did  Jesus  teach  that  His  sufferings 

would  be  for  the  good  of  the  world  ? 
"  The  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom 
for  many."     Matthew  xx.  28,  Mark  x.  45. 

110.  Were  the  disciples  ready  to  receive  this  teaching? 
No,  they  were  slow  of  heart  to  understand  it. 

Ill  Did  they  believe  that  disaster  was  about  to  over- 
take their  Master  ? 
No,  they  expected  rather  that  He  would  soon  be 
placed  on  a  glorious  throne  as  the  anointed,  or 
"  Messianic,"  Son  of  David,  promised  by  the 
prophets  of  Israel,  and  expected  by  the  Jews. 

112.  What  did  they  expect  for  themselves  ? 

They  expected  that  they  would  all,  as  the  com- 
panions of  Jesus,  be  great,  and  they  disputed 
among  themselves  who  should  be  greatest. 

113.  How  did  Jesus  feel  when  He  saw  this? 

He  was  grieved  by  their  vain  thoughts  and 
sought  to  correct  these. 

114.  What  did  He  do  for  this  purpose  ? 

He  took  a  child  into  His  arms  and  said  :  "  Unless 
ye  be  like  this  child  ye  cannot  be  great  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  ye  cannot  even  enter  it  at 
all."     Matthew  xviii.  2-4;  Mark  ix.  36,  37. 

115.  Did  Jesus  love  children  ? 


256  WITH    OPEN    FACE 

Yes.  Once  when  mothers  brought  their  children 
to  be  blessed  by  Him,  and  the  disciples  tried  to 
keep  them  away,  He  said:  "  Suffer  the  little 
children  to  come  unto  me ;  forbid  them  not,  for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God."     Mark  x.  14. 

116.  What  happened  to  Jesus  in  Bethany  a  few  days 

before  His  death? 
A  woman,  by  name  ISIary,  poured  a  vase  of  precious 
ointment  on  His  head  while  He  sat  at  table. 

117.  What  did  Jesus  say  concerning  this  action? 
"Wheresoever  this    Gospel  shall  be  preached  in 

the  whole  world,  there  shall  also  this  that  this 
woman  hath  done  be  spoken  of  for  a  memorial 
of  her."     Matthew  xxvi.  13,  ]Mark  xiv.  9. 

118.  Why  did  He  say  this  ? 

Because  ^Mary's  act,  though  blamed  as  waste  by 
the  disciples,  was  noble,  and  because  her  act  in 
breaking  the  alabaster  vase  and  shedding  its 
contents,  was  like  His  own  in  jielding  Himself 
to  be  crucified.  Both  were  acts  of  generous 
love. 

119.  What  solemn  transaction  took  jilace  on  the  night 

before  Jesus  was  crucified  ? 
Jesus  took  bread,  blessed  it,  brake  it,  gave  it  to 
His  disciples,  and  said  :  "  Take,  eat,  this  is  my 
body."  Then  he  took  a  cup  of  wine,  blessed 
it  also,  and  gave  it  to  the  disciples,  saying: 
"This  is  my  blood  shed  for  many."  Mark 
xiv.  22-25. 

120.  What  did  this  action  signify  ? 

It  sisrnified  that  the  death  of  Jesus  was  at  last  at 


THE   CHRISTIAN   PRIMER  257 

hand,  and  that  it  was  not  to  be  deplored,  be- 
cause it  was  to  bring  a  great  blessing  to  the 
world,  salvation  from  sin. 

121.  How  are  we  to  regard  the  death  of  Jesus  ? 

He  died,  the  just  one  ^for  the  unjust,  that  He 
might  bring  them  to  God. 

122.  What  affections  should  we  cherish  towards  Him 

who  died  for  the  sinful  ? 
We  should  love  Him  with  all  our  hearts  as  our 
Saviour,  and  worship  Him  and  serve  Him  as 
our  Lord. 

123.  Where  is  Jesus  now  ? 

He  is  in  the  house  of  His  Father  in  heaven,  where 
He  is  preparing  a  place  for  all  who  bear  His 
name  and  walk  in  His  footsteps. 


THE    END 


Date  Due 

^^^39 

^ss=asim 

>K 

wmmm 

^M» 

tflMMWHM 

r« 

^,,00'    ■"■ 

■iMMMu... 

^ 

BS2421 .B88 
With  open  face; 


Hlirill  llll  iII'h?!?^'"'  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00031   5228 


